The Edmonton Oilers entered the final stretch of the regular season facing a nightmare scenario. On March 15, star centre Leon Draisaitl suffered a lower-body injury following a collision with Nashville Predators forward Ozzy Wiesblatt during a 3–1 victory at Rogers Place.
The injury would sideline the team’s second-leading scorer for the remainder of the regular season in a devastating blow for the team chasing playoff positioning in the highly competitive Pacific Division. With Draisaitl’s 97 points in 65 games suddenly removed from the lineup, questions swirled about Edmonton’s ability to maintain its postseason trajectory.
The answer, as it turns out, has been a big yes. Since Draisaitl went down, the Oilers have gone 6–2, climbing within three points of the Pacific Division-leading Anaheim Ducks and securing their first four-game winning streak of the season.
Connor McDavid and co. ready for the dance
Connor McDavid has been nothing short of spectacular in Draisaitl’s absence. The captain has racked up 14 points (6 goals, eight assists) in eight games since the injury. He has reclaimed the NHL scoring lead with 125 points and put himself squarely back in the Hart Trophy conversation.
When asked about the team stepping up in Draisaitl’s absence, McDavid pointed to the collective effort required to fill such a massive void.
“You’re never going to replace a guy like that,” McDavid said after the Oilers’ 4–2 victory over Anaheim last week. “He’s a special guy, but as you said, we need it this time of year. We need to find ways to get wins in a weird kind of division here. We’ve got to punch our ticket to the dance.”
Earlier, McDavid had struck a similar tone: “It’s not the first time we’ve faced some injury adversity, and it’s going to be on everyone to step up and fill the void. We need leaders this time of year, and we need our group to be lively and energetic, and that’s with or without him in the lineup.”
The supporting cast has stepped up alongside McDavid
While McDavid has led from the front, the Oilers’ success has been a true team effort. Multiple players have elevated their games just in time.
Zach Hyman has been a consistent offensive threat, notching 31 goals and 20 assists in just 56 games this season. In the March 28 win over Anaheim, Hyman contributed a goal, and his ability to finish in tight around the net has been invaluable with Draisaitl’s power play presence missing.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been the steady veteran presence the team needed. Nuge has embraced the increased responsibility, and his comments after Draisaitl’s injury set the tone for the team’s response.
“Obviously, he’s a top-four scorer, one of the most elite players in the League, so it’s not like one guy can just step into his shoes,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “We kind of talked about it this morning, it’s a collective thing with our group that everybody’s going to need to pick up the slack.”
Matthew Savoie has seized his opportunity to play alongside McDavid. The young forward has shown strong chemistry with the captain, and their line has posted a dominant 86.15% expected goals share since. Savoie has contributed timely goals, including markers against Vegas, Anaheim and Utah.
Jack Roslovic has provided secondary scoring punch, netting goals in multiple games during the winning streak. His ability to contribute offensively has helped spread the scoring load across the lineup.
Vasily Podkolzin has been another bright spot. He now has 33 points and has moved up in the lineup to help bridge the gap in the top-six.
Even in net, the team has only gotten better. Connor Ingram delivered a birthday gift to himself and the team with a 27-save shutout against Seattle on April 1, his 29th birthday. The goaltender has been solid in net, helping the Oilers tighten up defensively during this crucial stretch.
The team has found a defence-first new identity
Perhaps the most notable change has been the Oilers’ defensive commitment. McDavid himself addressed this shift in philosophy last week.
“We want to play a solid low event game,” he said. The numbers back it up, since the Olympic break, Edmonton has ranked fourth in the NHL in expected goals against per 60 minutes at 2.21, a remarkable defensive performance for a team often criticized for their play without the puck.
The addition of Jason Dickinson at the trade deadline has bolstered their checking game. “I think a lot of that is due to checking habits and tracking,” Dickinson said. “It’s getting above quickly, keeping them hemmed into the zone. Honestly, the easiest defence is a good offence. The more time you spend in the o-zone, the less time they have the puck.”
The Oilers are now 27–5–5 when scoring first this season, showing much better game management and control when they grab early leads.
With the regular season winding down, the Oilers sit at 38–28–9, second in the Pacific Division. The team now has seven games remaining, including crucial divisional matchups against Chicago, Vegas, Utah, San Jose, Los Angeles, Colorado and Vancouver.
Draisaitl, who travelled to Munich last week (but is now back in Edmonton), expressed hope for a playoff return.
“I hope [to return to the ice this season]; that’s the plan and the reason I’m here right now,” he said. “It will definitely take a few weeks. I hope we can keep playing long enough that I’ll be able to help out again at some point.”
The good news is that surgery won’t be required, and general manager Stan Bowman has already expressed cautious optimism about Draisaitl’s availability for the postseason.
