Connor McDavid missed practice Tuesday morning with what the Edmonton Oilers are calling a lower-body injury. He’s day-to-day and could miss Wednesday’s tilt with the Vegas Golden Knights.
In what seems like a coinciding move, forward Dylan Holloway was recalled from the Bakersfield Condors. He played on the third line at practice with Ryan McLeod and Corey Perry.
Holloway scored a hat trick on Saturday for the Condors and gets rewarded with another shot on the Oilers. He opened the season with the team but scored just three goals in 32 games. In 18 games in the AHL, he’s scored 10 goals and six assists.
McDavid’s injury doesn’t seem serious
The Oilers will obviously be very careful with their star this close to the postseason, so it’s not a surprise he might sit out a game or two if something is hurting.
According to Mark Spector, it doesn’t sound like a major injury, but still something to monitor.
McDavid sits just six points back of the NHL scoring lead, so any missed games will hurt his chances of taking home the Art Ross Trophy. But both he and the team care more about getting healthy before the playoffs than individual point totals.
He also needs one more assist to become the fourth player ever to reach 100 in a season, but hopefully, he’ll tackle that milestone even if he misses a couple of games.
There is nothing more important than having McDavid healthy for the postseason, so his status is something to monitor moving forward.
Another chance for Holloway
Holloway was taken 14th overall by the Oilers in the 2020 NHL Draft and has bounced between the AHL and NHL since.
In 83 career NHL games, he’s scored just six goals with seven assists. But in 63 AHL games, he has 25 goals and 23 assists.
If McDavid doesn’t play, Holloway will have a good shot to prove himself on a line with McLeod and Perry.
Who knows, if he plays well enough, he could find himself on the playoff roster.
Photo by Brian Murphy, All-Pro Reels
