Avalanche of injuries no worry for Oilers and McDavid in NHL playoffs

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‘I don’t like this whole notion that we’re the walking wounded here.’

Published Apr 15, 2025 • 4 minute read

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Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers skates against the New York Islanders during the first period at UBS Arena on March 14, 2025, in Elmont, New York. Photo by Bruce Bennett /Getty ImagesArticle content

Connor McDavid says he’ll be ready to go for the NHL playoffs.

And raring, if a poorly attended optional practice Tuesday serves any indication.

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Held at the Downtown Community Arena just hours ahead of the team’s departure for their regular-season finale against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday (8:30 p.m., Sportsnet), just a handful of players turned out for a half-hour session.

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But when two of them were McDavid and fellow superstar Oilers centre Leon Draisaitl, it makes you wonder why what amounted to the final practice of the regular season wasn’t better attended ahead of what’s become the annual opening-round series against the Los Angeles Kings.

Maybe everyone just needed to rest up, given how banged up this Oilers roster looks as it limps toward the finish line of the regular-season schedule.

McDavid and Draisaitl are no exceptions, as the Oilers dynamic duo took the opportunity to get out on the ice and knock off whatever rust may be accumulating throughout their own recoveries (McDavid missed nine of the last 12 games and Draisaitl 10 of the last 13).

Add fellow forwards Zach Hyman and Trent Frederic, and defencemen Mattias Ekholm, Jake Walman and Troy Stecher, and you’re missing an entire top line worth of starting forwards and half the defensive corps. And it doesn’t help having blue liner Darnell Nurse facing a suspension hearing Tuesday evening after getting ejected from Monday’s 5-0 loss to the Kings for hauling Quinton Byfield to the ice and crosschecking him in the back of the helmet.

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“It’s been unique, obviously, kind of unprecedented for our group,” McDavid said of the mounting injuries. “We’ve had a great string of health here for a long time and everything’s kind of hitting us at once.

“While it is true, guys are healthier than it may seem.”

A bit of abracadabra, then? Smoke and mirrors to lull the Kings into a false sense of security before playing games that really matter? Less about injury recovery and more about recuperation to hit the ground running on the post-season with fully recharged batteries?

Perhaps a bit of A, B and C all rolled into one.

But one thing’s certain, McDavid isn’t standing for any of what’s befallen the Oilers’ roster counting as an excuse for performing poorly in the playoffs. Or for counting them out ahead of time, for that matter.

“I think we have this aura about us like we’re the walking wounded, but we’re just fine. Everybody’s going to be ready to roll, everybody is doing whatever they can,” McDavid said. “I don’t like this whole notion that we’re the walking wounded here. We’re ready to roll.”

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More than ready, in fact. This is, after all, where the Oilers wanted to pick right up after spending the off-season thinking about the one goal that made the difference between losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers. Everything since has been about earning the opportunity in a do-over this year.

There was, of course, the not-so-small matter of an 82-game regular season to get out of the way first.

And McDavid still has some unfinished personal business to tend to prior to playoffs.

He came into Tuesday tied for fifth in league scoring at 99 points (26 goals, 73 assists) with Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner. If McDavid doesn’t play in Wednesday’s finale, he will fall short of triple digits for just the third time in his career. The other ones happened during an injury-shortened rookie season in 2015-16, and a COVID-19-shortened 2019-20 schedule.

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“I’m definitely healthy enough, ready to roll. It’s just a question of what (head coach Kris Knoblauch) wants to do,” McDavid said, adding there is no real point to adding an extra point to his statistics. “There’s not much difference between 99 and 100.

“No, that’s not something that’s on my mind.”

If McDavid hopes to make a memorable playoff statement in 2025, it’s going to have to result in a bigger moment than the one burned into the minds of Canadian hockey fans when he scored the overtime winner over Team USA to capture the gold medal for his country at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

The flipside of that, of course, is McDavid didn’t get the same two weeks of rest and recovery that — aside from the Swedish pair of Viktor Arvidsson and, interestingly, Ekholm — the rest of the Oilers enjoyed in February, possibly contributing to some time missed along the playoff stretch. (Insert a mental shrug emoji here.)

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Ekholm is the one player who won’t be bouncing back from injury in time to open playoffs against the Kings. In fact, he is scheduled to miss the entire first round. At least …

“I’ve felt, personally, night and day better than before the injury just in terms of rest,” McDavid said. “Not getting a break there with the 4 Nations, which I’m not complaining about, at all — so, if the league’s listening, I’m not complaining about that — it’s just I feel night and day better since the injury.

“I’m sure Leon’s going to feel the same way. Everybody’s going to feel the same way coming out of that and we’ll be ready to roll.”

E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge

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Avalanche of injuries no worry for Oilers and McDavid in NHL playoffs

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