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Oilers HC Sheds Light on Connor McDavid & Leon Draisaitl's Injury Status & Timelines

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Mar 22, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The Edmonton Oilers will be without both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl for a few games, head coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed Friday while providing a return timeline.

Knoblauch ruled the pair out of Saturday’s game against the Seattle Kraken and said they are “probably up to a week” away from returning.

McDavid left Thursday’s 4–3 overtime loss to Winnipeg after two periods following a collision with Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey.

Draisaitl, meanwhile, missed that game with an undisclosed issue picked up in Tuesday’s 7–1 win over Utah. Knoblauch also confirmed the pair was undergoing an MRI on Friday, as initially reported by Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.

Coach Knoblauch met with the media following today's #Oilers practice to provide injury updates on multiple players including McDavid & Draisaitl, as well as discuss potential call-ups, Kane returning to practice & more.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/PFEHTxBJ4g
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) March 21, 2025

“I don’t think they would [be able to play today],” Knoblauch said. “We want to be 100 percent, we want to be healthy going into playoffs and we certainly don’t want to be pushing these guys.”

McDavid has 90 points in 63 games this season. Draisaitl leads the NHL with 49 goals and sits second in points with 101 in 68 games.

Saturday will be the first time both superstars have been unavailable in the same game due to injuries since they became teammates in the 2015-16 season, per The Athletic's Daniel Nugent-Bowman.

Meanwhile, goaltender Stuart Skinner, who was pulled late Thursday by a concussion spotter, avoided injury and is available for Saturday’s game after clearing the concussion protocol.

Edmonton (40–24–5) remains second in the Pacific Division with 85 points in 69 games and 13 to play, trailing the Vegas Golden Knights by three points and leading the Los Angeles Kings by two—though Los Angeles holds one game in hand.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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