The Edmonton Oilers may be preparing for a few games without superstar Leon Draisaitl in the lineup.
After leaving Sunday’s game against the Nashville Predators with an injury, Draisaitl was absent from practice on Monday morning. Head coach Kris Knoblauch seemed to give a positive injury update on the German superstar after the Nashville win, but did not have an exact timeline for his return when asked on Monday.
It certainly feels like Draisaitl may miss a little bit of time with what Knoblauch is calling a “lower-body injury,” so how will the Oilers cope? We might’ve gotten a hint at what the team will run up front during practice.
880 CHED’s Bob Stauffer had the full lineup from Monday’s skate.
The @EdmontonOilers practice:
Savoie-McDavid-Hyman
RNH-Dickinson-Roslovic
Podkolzin-Samanski-Kapanen
Jones-Henrique-Frederic
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Murphy
Walman-Stastney
Ingram
Jarry
not on ice:
Draisaitl and Emberson
— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) March 16, 2026
It doesn’t appear that Knoblauch is interested in breaking up what worked during Sunday’s victory. He kept rookie Matt Savoie on the top line with Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman, and it sounds like that will be a regular line moving forward.
There was some speculation on whether or not Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would move back to centre in Draisaitl’s absence, but that does not appear to be the case. He skated on a line with Jason Dickinson and Jack Roslovic, keeping intact a trio that had great results in their first game together against the Predators.
Draisaitl’s linemates, Vasily Podkolzin and Kasperi Kapanen, have been moved down to the third line, where they will have another German pivot in Josh Samanski centring them. Lastly, the fourth line of Max Jones-Adam Henrique-Trent Frederic stayed together.
No changes were made to the defensive group, as Ty Emberson still hasn’t returned to skating after getting injured against the Colorado Avalanche last week.
No starting goalie has been named for Tuesday’s game against the San Jose Sharks, though with Ingram being anointed as the team’s starting goalie, he would be a good bet to get the call.