PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Golden Knights

The Edmonton Oilers hope to have Connor McDavid in the lineup on Wednesday night when they host the Vegas Golden Knights at Rogers Place.

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PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Golden Knights

EDMONTON, AB – When the Oilers continue their push for the top of the Pacific Division on Wednesday against the Golden Knights, they could be without their captain in the lineup.

The Oilers sit five points back of Canucks for the division lead with two games in hand and a head-to-head matchup remaining against them after dousing the Flames 4-2 in the Battle of Alberta on Saturday for their second straight victory, having now won five of their last seven games (5-1-1).

Connor McDavid recorded his 98th and 99th assists of the season and Leon Draisaitl hit the 40-goal mark for the third year running with a power-play goal in the first period. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had three points in the victory, while Calvin Pickard was strong between the pipes with 33 saves as the Oilers strengthened their hold over second place in the Pacific with two more points to go six points up on the Kings and seven on the Golden Knights.

Connor McDavid moved to within one assist of becoming the fourth player in NHL history with 100 helpers, but the Oilers captain is listed as day-to-day for Wednesday’s tilt against Vegas with a lower-body injury he sustained in the third period against Calgary on Saturday.

“He is day to day, so we'll find out tomorrow or definitely by the weekend,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said after Tuesday's practice. “There is a chance [he doesn’t play]. He's day-to-day. It's a maintenance thing.”

With six games left to play over the final nine days of the regular season, it’ll be a frenetic finish for the Blue & Orange who could decide to give McDavid – and some other plays in the lineup – extra rest down the stretch to rest and recuperate ahead of the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

That would give the likes of Dylan Holloway, who was just summoned from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors on Tuesday, the chance for more NHL ice time and to audition themselves for potentially bigger roles in the postseason.

Coach Knoblauch said it’s a clever balance over the final handful of regular-season games trying to keep your players sharp and rested, while also considering the tight race in the standings and their need to keep winning games.

“Absolutely. You always run the risk,” Knoblauch said. “Sometimes if a player’s not going 100% and he's not aware and he gets hit or he's pushing so hard that he puts himself in a vulnerable position, as a coach you have no control over that.

“If we were playing the last two games of the season and those games didn't mean anything, it's easier taking guys out. But as a coach, you always want your team to be ready for the playoffs and not take a step back, and it's a very difficult situation on how hard you push and how badly you want to win while also protecting your team and preparing it for the playoffs.”

Draisaitl echoed his coach's assessment, going further by saying this is an important time for players to reaffirm some positive habits for the postseason.

"Just habits. I think that's the most important thing," Draisaitl said. "The last thing you want to do this time of year is lose your habits just because seemingly the games aren't as important as maybe a month ago. So we're just going to continue to stick with our game plan, have good details, stick to that and just try and continue to win."

There's extra motivation on both sides to secure the win, with Vegas still fighting to lock in their playoff spot and the matchup being a potential first-round matchup after meeting last postseason in the second round.

"It'll be a great test. It's always tight games against them," Draisaitl added. "It's always obviously a little bit of history in the playoffs there, so should be a good test for us."

Coach Knoblauch felt that this was the right time to give Holloway another look at the NHL level before the playoffs with the forward coming off a hat-trick in a four-point night with Bakersfield against the Calgary Wranglers on Saturday.

Holloway helped the Condors clinch a playoff berth in the AHL’s Pacific Division this past week against Tucson and had eight goals and four assists in 14 games since Mar. 8.

“Dylan was playing really well for us when he was here and down in Bakersfield. He's been able to build his game and get some more confidence in scoring goals,” Knoblauch said. “He's just coming off a hat trick and felt that this was an excellent opportunity to give him another chance.”

The 22-year-old has spent the majority of his previous assignment in Bakersfield playing centre, which will add to Edmonton’s depth along with his size, speed and skill as a young forward looking to make an impact.

"A big thing they just said was they want me to use my speed and be physical," Holloway said. "I think that's something that I can do consistently every night, so I'm going to try to do that and then down the stretch, I've just got to play smart; no puck turnovers, got to get pucks in deep and kind of go work from there."