Oilers News & Rumors: Henrique, Draisaitl, McDavid

Draisaitl Has Bandaged Up Finger

Fans noticed in the video posted by the Oilers that Leon Draisaitl arrived in Dallas nursing a bandaged finger. It’s not clear when he suffered the injury or how serious it is, but it was probably the result of blocking a Conor Garland slap shot in Game 7. 

The bandage didn’t stay on his finger for long, so it’s not clear if he was hiding it while addressing the media with Mattias Ekholm hours later, or if it’s just not that bad. The hope is that it’s the latter and that it isn’t anything that will affect his shot. He is currently the NHL’s playoff-scoring leader and the Oilers’ biggest goal-scoring weapon on a nightly basis (even though Zach Hyman technically has more goals.)

Can McDavid Get Hot Again?

Suggesting Connor McDavid has more to give in the playoffs than he already has might seem strange. He’s second in playoff scoring with 21 points in 12 games. But there is something off in his game of late and he didn’t produce a point in three of the last five games against the Vancouver Canucks, including Game 7.

It seems like everyone is waiting for McDavid to put up one of his traditionally incredible playoff performances and just explode for offense in a game. He’s capable of it, having scored eight points in two games against Vancouver. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic writes:

The Oilers need McDavid to chip in more consistently. The Stars have posed challenges for him, particularly Norris Trophy-calibre defenceman Miro Heiskanen. But he’s still recorded 29 points in 21 career games.

source – ‘Four reasons for Oilers optimism heading into Round 3 against the Stars’ – Daniel Nugent-Bowman – The Athletic – 05/23/2024

The Stars also have Chris Tanev, who will be tasked with shutting down McDavid or Draisaitl. He was given that job in the Vegas series against Jack Eichel, and then again versus Colorado and Nathan MacKinnon. But, McDavid is a different breed of player who, if on a different line than Draisaitl in 5-v-5 situation can make life difficult for opposing defenses. McDavid has recorded 29 points in 21 career games against the Stars.

A bit more consistency from McDavid and a willingness to shoot the puck more often will help the Oilers immensely. The Oilers aren’t being favored in this series, but it’s a matchup the elite stars versus the deep Stars. Who wins?