Oilers get immediate Connor McDavid injury update after Blue Jackets loss

The Edmonton Oilers won back-to-back games entering their Monday night clash with the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, they could not make it three straight wins. The Blue Jackets dominated Edmonton as they cruised to a 6-1 victory. During the game, the Oilers lost Connor McDavid to injury after he was tripped up entering the offensive zone.

It isn’t clear what McDavid’s specific injury status is at this time. But Edmonton fans did receive an update regarding their superstar captain following Monday’s loss. McDavid is returning to Edmonton on Monday night to be re-evaluated for a lower-body injury, according to head coach Kris Knoblauch.

“He’s your captain, your best player,” the Oilers head coach said in clip posted to social media. “Often sometimes it should be an opportunity for guys to step up. It’s more ice time, more opportunity. It’s tough anytime playing without your best player. But it’s something we’ll have to (do), hopefully short term.”

Connor McDavid is a major loss for the Oilers

Connor McDavid is, without hyperbole, the best player in the world when he plays to the best of his ability. McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs despite the Oilers failing to win the Stanley Cup. Furthermore, the Edmonton captain is eight points from 1000 in his career while having played fewer than 700 games.

As Knoblauch alluded to, it’s going to be tough for Edmonton to play without McDavid if he’s out long-term. At this time, it’s unknown how much time he will miss. However, it seems likely that McDavid will not play on Halloween against the Nashville Predators in Nashville.

How the Oilers will replace McDavid is unknown. Knoblauch mentioned he discussed the matter with general manager Stan Bowman as Bowman attended Monday night’s game in Columbus. A decision will be made on a player promotion from AHL Bakersfield will come in due time.

One likely change will be the promotion of Leon Draisaitl to the first line. Draisaitl, potentially the second-best player in the world, should more than hold his own on the top line alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman. However, his move to the first line certainly creates some issues with how the rest of the lines are constructed.

As of now, the Oilers and fans are in wait-and-see mode. Edmonton has a few days to figure out how to immediately replace its captain in the lineup. Hopefully, McDavid avoids a serious injury and can return without complication sooner rather than later.

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