Oilers GM Bowman provides encouraging news: Draisaitl's lower-body injury won't require surgery, potentially paving his return for the playoffs.
As per a report by Elliotte Friedman, and then confirmed by video footage of an interview with Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman at the GM meetings, "If everything goes as scheduled, he [Leon Draisaitl] should be back at end of the regular season."
Bowman added that Draisaitl does not need surgery for the lower-body injury that was the reason the team released a statement that the forward was done for the season. He could be back in time for the playoffs, although that is not confirmed.
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Bowman confirmed that this was not a "fabricated timeline" and that they meant it when they suggested he should be back at the end of the regular season. The Oilers expect him to be ready for their playoff run, even if they can't officially set a date for his return to the ice.
“It’s a collective thing with our group. Everyone is going to have to pick up a little bit of slack," said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins prior to the Oilers 5-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. Nuge scored a goal and had an assist and the Oilers got scoring from unlikely places, including defenseman Connor Murphy, and depth forward Max Jones. Everyone will need to up their effort a fraction to make up for the loss, but for a team that believes they are a Stanley Cup contender, that's just part of the deal with a star player goes down.
"It's going to be important that all our players step up a little bit," said Knoblauch. He has to be pleased with the early return as one game into his injury absence, Edmonton did exactly that.
Winning will get harder without Draisaitl, but this is a club that believes they can do it. Look no further than a club like the Pittsburgh Penguins, who went 5-3-3 without Sidney Crosby in the lineup. He returns tonight for the Penguins and they stayed afloat while he and Evgeni Malkin missed a chunk of games.
Edmonton has 13 games remaining in the season. It's not ideal that Draisaitl won't be available for them, but this is not the end of the world for the Oilers, especially if they're confident he'll be back when the games really matter.
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