Connor McDavid not leaving with Edmonton Oilers on four-game road trip

Connor McDavid not leaving with Edmonton Oilers on four-game road trip.

A host of players on the mend who won’t be packing their bags, initially, at least, including defencemen Mattias Ekholm and John Klingberg, as well as starting goalie Stuart Skinner and, last but not least, captain Connor McDavid, as the Oilers open a four-game swing through the southwestern U.S., beginning against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.
Forwards Evander Kane and Trent Frederic, who have yet to suit up for the Oilers this season, will be along for the journey, but only to continue skating with the club on the road ahead of their debuts, which for Kane won’t be until the post-season.

But if Leon Draisaitl’s latest outing is any indication, a little R and R — rest and recovery more than relaxation — might not be the worst thing.

The league’s leading goal scorer notched his 50th and 51st of the season in a 3-2 overtime win in Saturday’s Battle of Alberta after sitting out the previous four games with an undisclosed injury.

Imagine what McDavid, who has missed four, himself, with a lower-body injury, could do if the Oilers forsake the rest of the regular season in favour of sitting him out until playoffs to catch up on some of the time he spent helping Team Canada to gold at the 4 Nations Face-Off

In all seriousness, no, the team would like to have their face of the franchise back in the lineup just as soon as humanly possible, thank you very much.

“I think the most important thing is that he is healthy and 100 per cent for the playoffs,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “But to say the regular season’s not that important and we’re not playing for anything, just putting in time I think is a little farfetched. We’re not in that position.

“So, when he is healthy, we want him joining and we want him playing. But we’re not going to push something that might get worse.”

There is a chance, albeit a slim one, of McDavid catching up with the team before the road trip winds up in Anaheim on April 7.

“We know a ballpark when it’s going to be, and it’s not going to be the next game or two,” Knoblauch said. “We feel it should be before the regular season ends. So, we’re looking at one, two and, at the most, three (weeks) because that’s what we have left of our season.