The Edmonton Oilers have not had the start to the 2024-25 season they wanted, and things may get worse.
Early in the team’s 6-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night, superstar center Connor McDavid was forced out of the game with a concerning lower-body injury. McDavid played just 37 seconds in the first period before being ruled out of the remainder of the game.
While attempting to make a zone entry on his first shift, McDavid was tripped by defenseman Ivan Provorov and sent awkwardly into the boards. The three-time NHL MVP appeared to jam his left skate hard into the lower portion of the side boards.
The 27-year-old pivot got up and skated off under his own power but did not take another shift in the game. He returned to the locker room and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the night by the Oilers.
Connor McDavid (lower body) will not return for the #Oilers tonight.
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 28, 2024
Edmonton’s head coach, Kris Knoblauch, did not provide a substantial update on McDavid postgame, but what he did say revealed that the Oilers were already preparing to fill his potentially open roster spot.
“He’s going to go back to Edmonton and get evaluated,” Knoblauch said. “I’ll have something later tomorrow.
“We discussed [a recall], and we’ll make that decision either tonight or tomorrow about who’s coming up to replace him.”
The Oilers are currently on a road trip, so McDavid’s return home would likely rule him out of at least Thursday’s game against the Nashville Predators and potentially Sunday’s game against the Calgary Flames.
McDavid has had a slow start to the 2024-25 campaign for his standards, “just” being a point-per-game player through 10 games with 10 points (3g, 7a). He is tied with Leon Draisaitl for the team lead in scoring.
Edmonton is just 4-5-1 through 10 games to start the year after making it to the Stanley Cup Final last season. The club’s .450 points percentage ranks 12th in the Western Conference and 24th leaguewide.
Update (10/30): The Oilers announced Wednesday that McDavid will be out of their lineup for 2-3 weeks.
#Oilers captain Connor McDavid sustained an ankle injury during Monday's game in Columbus & is expected to return to action in two to three weeks. pic.twitter.com/gSGUanCrJE
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 30, 2024
