{"id":544808,"date":"2026-04-07T03:17:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T03:17:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/544808\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T03:17:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T03:17:30","slug":"leon-draisaitl-injury-update-oilers-coach-kris-knoblauch-avoids-clear-answer-on-the-forwards-availability-for-game-1-of-nhl-playoffs-nhl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/544808\/","title":{"rendered":"Leon Draisaitl Injury Update: Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch avoids clear answer on the forward’s availability for game 1 of NHL playoffs | NHL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"LeonLeon Draisaitl injury update (Getty Images) The Edmonton Oilers are back in a familiar spot, riding the highs of a five-game win streak before a sharp 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights reset the mood. With the playoffs approaching, the bigger concern isn\u2019t the defeat itself but the uncertainty surrounding Leon Draisaitl<\/a>\u2019s injury. Edmonton has long framed his absence as temporary, something they could manage until the games truly matter. Now, with a possible first-round meeting against Vegas looming, the timeline around Draisaitl\u2019s return feels less certain and far more important.<\/p>\n

Oilers HC drops Leon Draisaitl injury update <\/p>\n

Head coach Kris Knoblauch offered the clearest picture yet, though it came with a dose of caution. Speaking ahead of Tuesday\u2019s game, he stopped short of confirming whether Leon Draisaitl will be ready for Game 1.\u201cLeon is going to be on the ice this week. I don\u2019t anticipate him playing any games in the regular season. Playoffs, sometime in the first round, if things go well. I\u2019m not ruling that out [Game 1 availability], but there\u2019s a period of time that we anticipated him returning,\u201d Knoblauch outlined.That window, it seems, is still fluid.\u201cWe said it would be right around the end of regular season, start of playoffs. If he gets in that first game, great. He has not been on the ice yet. We anticipate he\u2019ll be on the ice sometime this week,\u201d he added.For a team that has leaned heavily on Draisaitl\u2019s production, those words land with mixed meaning. Encouraging, but far from reassuring.The 30-year-old remains one of the league\u2019s most productive players, sitting fifth in NHL scoring with 97 points in just 65 games. His absence has been felt not only in numbers but in the rhythm of Edmonton\u2019s attack.Draisaitl himself has acknowledged the uncertainty. While seeking treatment in Germany, he kept expectations measured. \u201cIt will definitely take a few weeks. I hope we go far enough so I can help the team again.\u201dThe injury traces back to a hit from Nashville\u2019s Ozzy Wiesblatt in mid-March. Draisaitl briefly returned for a couple of shifts but did not finish the game, and he hasn\u2019t played since.There are other concerns, though less severe. Winger Zach Hyman is also sidelined, but his return is expected before the regular season ends. \u201cHyman is going to play one, if not two, games before the end of the season, so this week he\u2019s not playing,\u201d Knoblauch said.Even with injuries, Edmonton\u2019s foundation remains intact. Trade deadline additions have settled in, the goaltending picture is clearer, and the defense has tightened with guidance from Paul Coffey behind the bench.Still, everything circles back to Draisaitl. The Oilers don\u2019t just need him. They need him at his best, and soon enough to matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leon Draisaitl injury update (Getty Images) The Edmonton Oilers are back in a familiar spot, riding the highs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544809,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5125],"tags":[62085,198,146,5300,5,370,46087,4,60,24,38217],"class_list":{"0":"post-544808","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edmonton-oilers","8":"tag-draisaitl-game-1-availability","9":"tag-edmonton","10":"tag-edmonton-oilers","11":"tag-edmontonoilers","12":"tag-hockey","13":"tag-leon-draisaitl","14":"tag-leon-draisaitl-injury-update","15":"tag-nhl","16":"tag-nhl-playoffs","17":"tag-oilers","18":"tag-oilers-coach-kris-knoblauch"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116361262548738594","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}