Over the past month, the Edmonton Oilers have been struck with one of the most devastating injury plagues in recent memory. It has affected nearly every top player on the team with the ever growing list including Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Mattias Ekholm (who is now expected to miss significant time), Evan Bouchard, Zach Hyman, Stuart Skinner, Jake Walman, John Klingberg, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, with Trent Frederic being hurt since his acquisition and Evander Kane having missed the entire season to this point.
The Oilers recently clinched a playoff spot with their victory on Friday over the San Jose Sharks, although it is starting to feel like the Bakersfield Condors actually just clinched an NHL playoff spot with the amount of injuries right now.
With the staggering amount of top players and star talent out of the lineup, it has left plenty of space for other players to step up and contribute more in expanded roles. Some players on the team have taken advantage of this and elevated their game to help ensure a playoff berth for Edmonton, in the hopes that most of the players will be back in time for playoffs.
So, this week, we took to Twitter to ask the fans which player been the best and most impactful, stepping up their game to the highest level, while dealing with the injuries on the roster.
Want to take part in Sunday Census polls? We send them out every week on our Twitter at @oilrigEDM. Follow along or send in ideas for the next poll!
As the #Oilers have played these last few games with so many players injured, which player stood out and was the most impressive?
— The Oil Rig (@oilrigEDM) April 12, 2025
Out of the doghouse, onto the top line
Jeff Skinner spent significant time this season in the doghouse of the Oilers coaching staff. Reduced ice time, no major role, and even spending time as a healthy scratch. By the trade deadline, many fans were hoping he would agree to waive his no trade clause in order to free up cap space for a bigger move. But, just one month after the deadline, the narrative around Skinner has completely shifted. The fans have chosen him as the player who has stepped up the most with 28% of the vote.
Since March 20, Skinner has five goals and seven points in 11 games, a much higher pace than he was scoring at previously. Additionally, his ice time has jumped significantly, to a point where he is averaging 15:30 in ice time per game and he has been starting games on the top line alongside McDavid the past couple of weeks.
As we get set to potentially see him play his first ever playoff game (assuming the injury curse doesnt afflict him too), Skinner is finding his game with the Oilers at the right time.
Everybody loves Calvin
Since he joined the Oilers in the goaltending fiasco early in the 2023–24 season, Calvin Pickard has been one of the best statistical back-up goalies in the league. With the Oilers, he has a 34–16–2 record, including a 22–9–1 record so far this season. He has a 2.56 goals against average and .905 save percentage as well as a 3.8 GSAA on Hockey Reference, which is not an oustanding number but for a backup he is exactly as good as he needs to be.
Pickard was thrust into the starting goaltender role when Stuart Skinner was injured in a game against the Dallas Stars in late March. Since then, he has helped guide a broken team to a 5–2–0 record with a .905 save percentage.
He has his struggles against high end competition and is not the player you’d want starting in big playoff games, but the team trusts him, the coaching staff might give him the game one start in the playoffs, and the players around him rally to support him when he is in net.
For his performance in this stretch, Pickard was voted to a tie for second in this week’s poll with 26.2% of the vote.
Back as the number one defender
Before the arrival of Ekholm, Darnell Nurse was the presumed number one defender on the team, a role that came with some struggles. This season particularly, he has stepped up his game in his role on the second pairing and played some of the best hockey of his career. Now, with Ekholm having missed most of the last two months, as well as his return date being to be determined and likely after the season is over, Nurse has been thrust back into this number one role.
The difference this time is that he is playing extremely well. His game has been far more solid and well-rounded than in the past. Since the beginning of March, Nurse has 11 points in 19 games and is averaging over 24 minutes of ice time per game. This includes two games where he played 28 minutes.
Nurse’s play lately has brought him into a tie for second in this week’s poll with 26.2% of the vote.
The second Connor
Connor Brown’s time with the Oilers has been nothing short of a roller coaster. He earned a ton of goodwill with his energy and especially his elevated level of play in the playoffs last season. Lately, he has found that level again as his role on the team grows with the injury issues.
In 11 games since March 20, Brown has four goals and one assist but has been averaging far more ice time, playing over 16 minutes per game. He has also hit 19 minutes in the past two games.
Brown’s role on the team has usually been a niche, depth forward with a focus on penatly kill. But he is getting a chance to showcase his speed with a promotion to the top line in recent games. He did, however, finish last in this week’s poll with 19.6% of the vote.
Who do you think has stepped up the most in the injury situation? Drop a comment down below!
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