Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid will be sidelined for two to three weeks due to an ankle injury, as announced by the team on Wednesday.
McDavid sustained the injury during his first shift in the Oilers’ 6-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night. This season, he has recorded three goals and ten points in ten games.
During the previous season, McDavid missed six games, with the Oilers struggling in his absence, posting a 1-4-1 record. He missed two games before the team experienced a coaching change in November and sat out four games in the final month of the season.
According to Sportlogiq, Edmonton’s offense has seen a decline in performance during the 19 games without McDavid since the 2016-17 season:
– With McDavid: 610 games, 3.26 goals per game (G/GP), 3.26 expected goals per game (XG/GP), 7:09 offensive zone time per game (OZ Time/GP), 25.2% power play percentage (PP%)
– Without McDavid: 19 games, 2.32 G/GP, 2.82 XG/GP, 6:37 OZ Time/GP, 18.2% PP%
The Oilers have started the current season with a challenging 4-5-1 record after losing their first three games. Notable players are struggling to score, including Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has one goal and four points, and Zach Hyman, last season’s 54-goal scorer, with only one assist.
Last season, the Oilers narrowly missed the Stanley Cup, and the team entered this season with hopes of a championship run, heavily relying on McDavid’s performance.
In his career, McDavid became the fourth player in NHL history to achieve 100 assists in a single season and the second skater to win the Conn Smythe Trophy while being on the losing team. The 27-year-old ranks 10th among active players with 992 points and eighth with 654 assists in 655 career NHL games.
The Oilers are set to face the Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames on the road this Thursday and Sunday, respectively, before returning home to play against the New Jersey Devils on Monday.
