Oilers must step up ‘collectively’ in Draisaitl’s absence with lower-body injury

EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers will have to adjust accordingly without Leon Draisaitl, who is expected to be out for the rest of the regular season and possibly into the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a lower-body injury.

Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said the star forward will be reevaluated at the start of the playoffs.

“Right now, the timeline we’re using is the end of the regular season,” Knoblauch said following a 5-3 win against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. “Once the playoffs start, then we’ll reevaluate and that’s where we’re at.”

Draisaitl sustained the injury in a 3-1 win against the Nashville Predators on Sunday. He took a hit from Predators forward Ozzy Wiesblatt along the boards at 4:20 of the first period and briefly left the game. Although he returned to play two shifts at the end of the period, he did not return for the second or third.

“You saw the hit, and he didn’t feel right and he goes back (into dressing room) and he gets checked out, the medical team and Leon do some tests, just some preliminary tests, to find out what it’s like,” Knoblauch said. “Leon feels comfortable enough that he wants to try it out and nothing out of the ordinary, nothing dramatic seemed like there was anything wrong.

“The next day he gets an MRI and then we find out it’s more serious.”

Draisaitl is a four-time 50-goal scorer and has 97 points (35 goals, 62 assists) in 65 games this season. He leads the NHL in goals since the 2018-19 season (359) and is second in points (846), behind Oilers teammate Connor McDavid (941).

Edmonton is not fooling itself into thinking Draisaitl can be replaced with 13 games remaining in the regular season. The Oilers (34-26-9) moved into a tie for first place in the Pacific Division with the Anaheim Ducks, who have two games in hand, following the win against the Sharks.

“Injuries happen. They’re part of the game,” Oilers forward Zach Hyman said. “We’re fortunate that Leon’s been really healthy since I’ve been here (fifth season). I don’t think he’s missed an extended period of time. As a group, we know the position we’re in, we know how tight the standings are. There’s a lot of divisional games and you’re missing one of the best players in the world.

“Nobody is just going to come in and replace him. Every line, every player has to play a little bit better and collectively as a group. When you do that, you play better as a team.”

The points Edmonton will miss with Draisaitl out will have to be made up by playing better defensively. The Oilers have made a concerted effort to shore up their defense all season and acquired defenseman Connor Murphy and forward Jason Dickinson just prior to the NHL Trade Deadline to help in that regard.

“We’re missing a perennial 50-goal scorer, so over 82 games that’s a goal every two or three games,” Hyman said. “That’s a lot of goals and a lot of assists as well.”

Edmonton was happy with its defensive effort in the first and third period against San Jose on Tuesday. The Sharks battled back from a two-goal deficit to tie the game 3-3 in the second period, when they outshot the Oilers 15-12.

However, they only managed seven shots on goal in the third.

Murphy, who scored his first goal with the Oilers in the win, knows what it’s like to have a star player go down. His former teammate with the Chicago Blackhawks, Connor Bedard, sustained a shoulder injury on Dec. 12 that kept him out 12 games.

“Any time a star player goes down, there’s minutes to be had that need to get disbursed to other players, and so that’s everyone’s time to shine and step up and eat those minutes in a positive way,” Murphy said. “It doesn’t mean that’s playing the same game that the guy had who left the lineup, that just means still staying within your strengths and being responsible and obviously having a positive impact and being a plus player. You’re just trying to create offense when you can and make sure you’re responsible defensively, and that leads to wins.”

Dickinson, for his part, also moved into Draisaitl’s spot centering Edmonton’s second line.

The forward was acquired by the Oilers from the Blackhawks, along with forward Colton Dach, for forward Andrew Mangiapane and a conditional first-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft on March 5.

Dickinson was brought in to be a third-line forward, yet six games into his tenure he has been promoted. He played between Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and right wing Jack Roslovic against the Sharks.

“A player like Leon is very hard, if not impossible, to replace,” Dickinson said on Monday. “I have a lot of respect for what his game brings to the team and the value that he brings.

“With that, it’s a huge opportunity for guys to step up, get a lot more ice time, and one other guy gets to slot in on the first power-play unit. Leon is really good on face-offs, so that opens up the door for guys to take some big, key face-offs.”​

Dickinson has one goal and one assist in seven games for Edmonton. He had 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 47 games with Chicago before he was traded.

Despite now being in a top-six role, Dickinson said he will not be changing his approach with the Oilers.

“I stick to my core, I stick to what am good at,” he said. “If I deviate, then other things suffer, the defensive side of my game suffers, and that’s not good for anybody, because I know what my role and my job is supposed to be. I go and take care of what I do first.”

Dickinson said he will not try to emulate Draisaitl despite the expected increase in ice time.

“That’s not going to be in my game where I’m going to start making crazy spin-o-rama plays because that’s what Leon can do,” Dickinson said. “I’m not going to be that guy.”