VANCOUVER, BC – The Edmonton Oilers will be without their German superstar for the next few games, starting Saturday with a Pacific Division clash against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena.
Forward Leon Draisaitl will be unavailable to face the Canucks tonight in Vancouver in the first of a weekend back-to-back for the Oilers after the team announced before this morning's pre-game skate on the West Coast that he'll take a leave of absence and return to Germany due to a family illness.
Draisaitl is expected to return sometime next week during Edmonton's extended eight-game homestand.
The German will be a massive loss for the Oilers against a Canucks team he's recorded at least a point against in 26 of his last 27 regular season games (23G, 21A), while Vancouver has lost their previous nine contests (0-7-2), but he has the full support of the Oilers' organization during this tough time.
"Obviously, we'll miss him, but the job comes second," Connor McDavid said. "Everybody in here is a brother, father, son or whatever, and that stuff comes first. He's got to go home and be with his family, and we're thinking about him and his entire family, so we've got to take care of things while he's done."
With Draisaitl's absence, everyone else in the lineup has a chance to raise their game and receive more opportunities.
"You saw it last year when we kind of got hit with the injury bug," McDavid said. "We had some guys step up in a really big way, so obviously, we're looking for the same thing this year with a little bit more opportunity. [Adam Henrique] is out as well, so lots of opportunities for guys to step up and make an impact."
