McDavid “game time decision”; Oilers host possible 1st-round opponent

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Game Day 77: Vegas at Edmonton

Edmonton Oilers begin a hectic closing segment of the regular season tonight against a hated division rival. Vegas Golden Knights eliminated the Oilers last spring enroute to a Stanley Cup title, and may well return as Edmonton’s first round opponent next weekend. That match-up remains to be seen, though tonight’s outcome will play a hand in it.

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The Golden Knights currently trail Los Angeles by 1 point for third in the Pacific Division, with a game in hand. A win tonight would vault the Vegans ahead of the Kings, each team with 4 games to play thereafter.

The big question overhanging the Oilers is the health of Connor McDavid, who missed both practices this week and has been declared day-to-day with a lower body injury. The captain skated on his own this morning of his team’s ahead of game day skate, suggesting he is very unlikely to suit up tonight. Coach Kris Knoblauch refused to rule him out, however.

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While it’s fair to assume that McDavid is loathe to miss any games, never mind one against Vegas, discretion remains the better part of valour. Especially at a time that the Oilers face the harshest closing stretch of any NHL club.

I wrote on this subject just recently, but today it comes into clearer focus. Let’s review the current NHL standings and remaining schedule with a scant 9 days left on the slate.

3 games remaining

• NYR, DAL, CAR, BOS, COL, FLA, NSH, PHA, NJD, BUF, CBJ, ANA

4 games remaining

• VAN, WPG, TOR, TBL, LAK, STL, NYI, WSH, PIT, DET, MIN, OTT, MTL, ARZ, SJS

5 games remaining

6 games remaining

The 12 teams shown in bold have clinched a playoff berth. 11 of them have 3 or 4 games left. The Oilers have 6.

Meaning those lovely games in hand that have been dangled like a carrot to Oil fans all season long suddenly look a whole lot more like a stick. A Leon Draisaitl cudgel, at that.

Much worse, just in the last few weeks the league office completely reversed course on a schedule that saw the regular season wind up on a Thursday but the playoffs not start until the following Monday — the exact same format as last season. Seemed strange a year ago, and stranger still when the league came back to it for 2023-24. But recently the powers that be decided they didn’t want a dark weekend just before the playoffs, an excellent idea if the regular season wound down on, say, a Tuesday or even a Sunday. Now, though, there will be just 1 day of rest for some playoff teams, a maximum 2 for others. That’s a big difference from the 3 or 4 built in to the original plan. It’s almost certain to have a bigger impact on teams who have a heavy closing sked, the Oilers being top of that list.

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Leaving this fan more than a little grumpy with both the league and whoever it was representing the Oilers who signed off on this crazy closing run in the first place.

Be that as it may, tonight the Oil will be relatively fresh with 3 days rest following a previous 9 games in 15 days run that had the team gasping fumes in Calgary last Saturday. But it will be incumbent upon not just the players but coaching and management to shepherd their workloads to the maximum degree. That starts tonight with the likely scratch of their most important player.

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Tonight’s (projected) line-up

Home fans hoping to see McDavid become just the fourth player in NHL history to reach the 100-assist plateau are likely to be disappointed, but it’s for the greater good. In his absence Draisaitl will step into the 1C role between Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman. Adam Henrique moves back to his natural centre position on Line 2, flanked by Evander Kane and Warren Foegele. Recently recalled from Bakersfield, Dylan Holloway slides into the 3LW spot alongside Ryan McLeod and Corey Perry, while Sam Carrick returns to the line-up at 4C in place of Derek Ryan.

Expect to see Kane on the first powerplay unit, with Nugent-Hopkins likely to slide over into the McDavid spot.

The blueline group remains unchanged from last game and indeed most of the season. As expected Stu Skinner gets the start in the pipes.

Adin Hill was in the starter’s net for the visitors at the morning skate. Trade deadline acquisition Tomas Hertl is expected to make his second appearance as a Vegan after space was made for him under the salary cap by a perfectly-timed long-term injury to fourth liner William Carrier. Never saw that one coming, did you?

It’s an early start at 6:30pm MDT, as the Oilers will somehow have 4 different start times for their 4-games-in-6-nights home stand. Thanks again, NHL!

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