Looks like Connor McDavid won’t miss a shift.
Despite speculation that the Oilers captain would miss a game or two of Edmonton’s three-game California road trip while he recovers from the Olympic experience, McDavid was right back at it Wednesday in Anaheim.
McDavid, who arrived in California Tuesday evening, centered the top line at the morning skate Wednesday, skating with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman on the wings and said he’s ready to get back into the heat of the NHL action, starting tonight.
“He looked pretty ready,” grinned head coach Kris Knoblauch, adding he’ll make a point to keep McDavid’s ice time in check. “Playing back-to-back after the Olympic break we’d like to limit (his ice time), so we’ll need our other lines to step up and play a significant role. It’s very important that those guys — Draisaitl and, more importantly, McDavid, because he was the last one to play — that their minutes aren’t that high.”
In an ideal world, getting McDavid a couple more days off would be nice, but the stakes are incredibly high right now and the next three games, all of them four-pointers against teams that are breathing down Edmonton’s neck, could have a massive impact on the final standings. The Oilers visit Anaheim tonight, Los Angeles Thursday and San Jose Saturday afternoon.
“This is a very important game for the standings, battling for position against Anaheim,” said Knoblauch. “It’s really important for us and it’s nice knowing that Connor is coming back and feeling well.”
McDavid freely admits it will be tough generating the same kind of adrenaline and excitement for a regular season road game that he just had in the Olympic gold medal game, but he says he’ll do his best to push through and get to his best.
“There is going to be a letdown, there is no doubt about it,” he said. “It’s my job to limit that, though. I have to find a way to get going here. These are important games for us.”
Fellow Olympian Leon Draisaitl skated with newly-recalled winger Matt Savoie and Jack Roslovic.
Other lineup changes include Adam Henrique returning after missing 15 games with a hand injury, which might help the struggling penalty kill, and Kasperi Kapanen sitting out for two or three games after being injured in practice.
Struggling wingers Trent Frederic and Andrew Mangiapane also look like they’ll be in the mix tonight. They were on the third and fourth lines, respectively.
Tristan Jarry gets the start in goal.
More to come
E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com
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