Frustration has continued to rise around the Edmonton Oilers, and things only got worse at Thursday morning’s practice.
Just days after getting blown out by the Dallas Stars on home ice, the Oilers were preparing with one last practice at Rogers Place before embarking on a brief one-game road trip this weekend.
Edmonton was expecting to get both Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kasperi Kapanen back from injury during that game, but that may not be the case anymore. According to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, Kapanen appeared to get injured during the last drill of practice and was forced to leave the game.
As he stepped off the ice, the 29-year-old smashed a line of sticks on the bench all over the ice in frustration.
Really unfortunate turn at Oilers skate. Kapanen appeared to hurt himself. Extremely frustrated as he left the ice. Been working his way back for some time now and was set to return. pic.twitter.com/MV9Ht4AQBn
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) November 27, 2025
The frustration is understandable for the speedy Finnish winger. He has had a hard time finding a consistent home in the NHL, having played with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, and now the Oilers.
It seemed like he had finally found a consistent spot in Edmonton, but he has been limited to just six games after getting injured early in the season. That injury has forced Kapanen to miss the last 19 games.
Head coach Kris Knoblauch said earlier this week that the team was hoping that Kapanen would return this Saturday against the Seattle Kraken. That now seems to be in danger, though Knoblauch was unable to provide an update after practice.
With how things have been going for the Oilers lately, the picture of hockey sticks being flung onto Rogers Place ice seems fitting for the type of frustration the team must be experiencing.