The Edmonton Oilers continue to navigate the final stretch of the regular season without two of their top contributors up front.
The Oilers have put together a 39-29-9 record, good for 87 points entering Monday, with just five games remaining.
As good as that is, the truth is that the Pacific Division is still very much up for grabs, with the Anaheim Ducks tied in points with Edmonton and the Vegas Golden Knights just one point behind, making every game left count.
Leon Draisaitl has been out since March 15 with a lower-body injury after exiting a game against Nashville. At the time of his injury, Draisaitl had recorded 35 goals and 97 points in 65 games.
Zach Hyman, meanwhile, has recorded 31 goals and 51 points in 57 games this season and played through injury during an Apr. 2 matchup against Chicago, and news emerged on Sunday about a possible two-week absence.
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Head coach Kris Knoblauch provided an update on Hyman's and Draistail's return timelines when addressing the media on Monday.
Regarding Hyman, the Oilers head coach provided an encouraging and positive update on his forward's upcoming availability.
"I would think (Hyman) could play one if not two games before the end of the season," said Knoblauch. "So this week he's not playing."
Discussing Draisaitl's status, Knoblauch didn't rule out his return in time for Game 1 of the playoffs, tentatively expected to be scheduled on the Apr. 18-19 weekend.
“There’s a period of time that we anticipated (Draisaitl) returning and, as we said, it’s going to be right around the end of the regular season, the start of the playoffs, and if he gets into that first game, that’s great, but he has not been on the ice yet,” Knoblauch said. “We anticipate he will be on the ice sometime this week, we’ll have an indication of how that’s going to go, but it’ll probably be sometime in that first round.”
Draisaitl, however, is unlikely to play again before the regular season ends on Apr. 16.
“Leon is going to be on the ice this week, and I don’t anticipate him playing any games in the regular season,” Knoblauch said. “And then playoffs, sometime in that first round if things go well.”
The Oilers face the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. ET.
