Washington Capitals v Edmonton Oilers

EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers will be without captain Connor McDavid for three games due to suspension starting on Tuesday night when they host the league-leading Washington Capitals at Rogers Place.

Following McDavid's three-game suspension handed down by the NHL's Department of Player Safety on Monday, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch will adjust his lineup and run with a centre quartet of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl, Adam Henrique and Noah Philp against the Capitals, while saying he expects the lines to be mixed up throughout tonight's contest.

Knoblauch didn't say who'd be on the top line with Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to start while mentioning that not only is it a potential opportunity for winger Jeff Skinner to get some top-six minutes, but for every forward to try and make up for the absence of McDavid for the next three matches.

"It's an opportunity for everybody," Knoblauch said. "Jeff definitely will get some opportunities to play more minutes than he has and move up in the lineup a little bit, but we're gonna need everyone stepping up a little bit more. Just with the absence of Connor, obviously, that's a huge void, but we're going to have to do it by community."

Leon Draisaitl always raises his game with McDavid out of the lineup and says the absence of their captain will galvanize the group toward raising their game.

"I think these situations create a lot of excitement for other guys, too," Draisaitl said. "Because you know you're gonna have to rely on other guys a little bit more than maybe you usually do, and I think that that creates certain excitement for those individuals. Obviously, Connor takes on a lot of the offence for us or in general with his all-around game, but it's a great opportunity for other guys."

Kris speaks before the Oilers host the Capitals on Tuesday

It will be a great challenge for the Oilers without their captain against the high-flying Capitals, who are 7-0-3 in their last 10 games and sitting in first place overall in the NHL. Washington is led offensively by forward Dylan Strome (12 goals, 36 assists), while the ever-present Alex Ovechkin has a team-high 21 goals as the Great Eight chases down the League's all-time goal-scoring record, needing 21 more to pass the Great One Wayne Gretzky's 894 career goals.

"I'm always looking for a challenge, and I'm always excited when these high-end guys come in," defenceman Mattias Ekholm said. "You have to try to defend them and try to limit their scoring chances, so I think that it's a challenge and it's exciting to get those. It's a long year and there are a few guys obviously that've been around the league for a long time showing what they can do, and this guy's track record speaks for itself."

Beyond their top offensive players, Coach Knoblauch says the Caps are clinical shooters and can come at you with speed as they try to generate the most of their chances off the rush. Goaltender Logan Thompson was just named the NHL's First Star of the Week after going 3-0-0 record with a 0.33 GAA and a .984 SV%, along with two shutouts.

"I think they've got three lines that can score. I think four lines that are very responsible, but all four that play hard," Knoblauch said. "I think a lot of their goals are coming off the rush, and they've got a lot of speed to their lineup, a lot of simplicity and they work hard. They're getting timely goals. But also, I don't think they cheat at all. I think they're well-coached. I think they play a really well-run game and you can see that with their team defence."

Edmonton's morning skate on Tuesday was optional, so lines for tonight's matchup will be confirmed during warmups at Rogers Place.

Leon discusses Tuesday's tilt against the Capitals at Rogers Place

View Edmonton's Projected Lineup vs. Washington below:

[Updated: 6:37 PM MST]

Podkolzin - Draisaitl - Arvidsson
Janmark - Nugent-Hopkins - Brown
Skinner - Henrique - Hyman
Perry - Philp - Kapanen

Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Stecher
Kulak - Emberson

Skinner
Pickard