Leon Draisaitl misses the rest of the regular season due to injury
The Edmonton Oilers’ star forward, Leon Draisaitl, who has 97 points in 65 games, will miss the remainder of the regular season due to a lower-body injury, the team announced on Tuesday. Draisaitl, with 35 goals and 62 assists this season, suffered the injury after a hard hit from Ozzy Wiesblatt in the first period of Sunday’s victory against Nashville. Although he returned for a couple of shifts, he did not return for the start of the second period.Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch stated on Sunday that information from the team’s medical staff indicated that “it shouldn’t be a very long injury.” The absence of Draisaitl in the lineup comes at a crucial moment for the Oilers (33-26-9), who are seeking to reach the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season. The injury raises questions about their ability to achieve this without a player responsible for creating or scoring 41% of their goals this season. After two consecutive appearances in the Western Conference finals, Edmonton, with 14 games remaining in the regular season, was on Tuesday in third place in the contested Pacific Division. The Oilers are two points behind the Anaheim Ducks, who are in first place, and one point behind the Vegas Golden Knights, who are in second place. The Oilers have a four-point lead over Seattle for the last wild card spot in the Western Conference, although they have played two more games than the Kraken. The Los Angeles Kings, for their part, are tied in points with the Kraken, but are outside the playoff zone, while the San Jose Sharks are one point behind Seattle. Draisaitl, 30, won the Hart Trophy as MVP in 2020 and was a runner-up last season, when the Oilers reached the Stanley Cup Final. Jason Dickinson is expected to fill the second-line center position while Draisaitl is out.It shouldn’t be many games.
Kris Knoblauch, Oilers coach
