Oilers’ Connor McDavid to return from injury Wednesday vs. Blues

The NHL playoffs are right around the corner, and some of the best teams in the league are getting ready to make a run at the Stanley Cup. That has been difficult for the Edmonton Oilers, who have been dealing with injuries to both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl recently.

Draisaitl is still out with a lower body injury, but the Oilers got better news about their other star. McDavid will return to the lineup against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night, according to Chris Johnston of The Athletic.

“Big news developing in Edmonton: Hearing that Connor McDavid will return to the Oilers lineup tonight against St. Louis,” Johnston reported on X, formerly Twitter. “McDavid has been sidelined with injury since March 20.”

McDavid went down with his injury, which was described as a lower body injury, on March 20 and has missed the team’s last eight games. Now, he will return with just five games to go before the playoffs.

McDavid’s impact goes far beyond the stat sheet, but the numbers speak for themselves for the Canadian superstar. In 63 games this season, he has racked dup 90 points on 26 goals and 64 assists.

It will still be a struggle for the Oilers as long as Draisaitl is out with his lower body injury. He was also injured around the same time that McDavid initially went down, but he did briefly return. He then re-injured himself on April 3 and will miss his third consecutive game on Wednesday night.

The Oilers are trying to pick up as many points as possible over the final five games to sneak home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. It is almost guaranteed that Edmonton will take on the Los Angeles Kings in the first round for the fourth season in a row, but it appears this may be the first time that the Kings will go into that series as the higher seed.

With five games left for both teams, the Oilers are just four points behind the Kings, so they do have a chance to make up that ground. The two teams will square off on April 14, which is a big game in this race for home ice. It will take a big hot streak for the Oilers to close the gap, and having McDavid back in the lineup will help them do that.