Answering some burning questions about Connor McDavid's injury ...

The Edmonton Oilers are not off to the start that most anyone expected.

As their 1-3-1 struggles persist the temperature in Oil Country will rise substantially.

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But as Randy Bachman wrote, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”.

After an overtime loss to the Jets on Saturday, a game Connor McDavid failed to finish due to an undisclosed injury, the angst will soon reach a new high. And it will add further glare to the club’s failure to address it’s 4C slot in the off-season.

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That and more in this edition of…

9. The Oilers have yet to score a goal in the 3rd period in 2023-24. I double guarantee you that no one had that on their bingo card.

8. Some folks believe that Jay Woodcroft is on the hot seat. Well, Ken Holland has fired exactly one head coach mid-season in 26 years as a General Man. The chances of him doing it again are slim to none.

7. As bad as Evan Bouchard surely was in Philadelphia, the young rearguard was quite effective against Winnipeg. Bouchard scored the 2-0 power play goal, sent Zach Hyman in on a breakaway with a gorgeous aerial pass, and defended with more intensity. Bouchard needs consistency. We need patience.

6. I recall a pre-season game I scored for The Cult of Hockey this past Fall where the Oilers racked up a scoresheet filled with penalties. I mentioned at the time that it was just exhibition and I would only start to worry if it started to happen in the regular season. Well, it sure did on Saturday. Stick infractions in particular are usually a sign of just not moving your feet.

5. When it came to stopping the puck, Stuart Skinner was good against the Jets. And he made two critical saves in overtime. Unfortunately, Skinner’s give-away on the 2-2 goal cost the club a point. But look: If your goaltender only allows two goals over 60 minutes you will win that game most nights. If it were me I would chalk it up to experience and start Skinner again next game.

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4. I am not one of these people who harps on Mattias Janmark. I see him as a very useful pro that you can be happy to have on your 4th line and on your PK. So, I do not mean any disrespect to the veteran when I wonder what else Dylan Holloway has to do to earn some Top-6 time? Holloway has been one of the most consistent Oilers over these first 5 games. Yet here he is still stuck on the 4th line again. The deployment of him strikes me as “careful” and “risk adverse”, at best.

3. My learned Cult of Hockey colleague Bruce McCurdy has written a very thorough article on Evander Kane’s production since his time last year on the injury front. Find it here. A connection was made to past contracts given by the club to 30+ year old forwards. As always, Bruce sticks to the facts and is fair. But I want to add to the conversation that those two injuries had nothing to do with Kane’s age or his legs and I believe that is a critical difference. Kane was effective on Saturday with 4 hits, had a spirited tilt and was moving better. I would have to see him struggle over a much larger sample, separated further from both stints on the IR.

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2. Darnell Nurse had his best performance of the year on Saturday including scoring a beauty for the 1-0. Skated great. Had 6 shots. His 5v5 CF was an eye-opening 23-7, 77%. He was only on the ice for one HDSC against if you blame him for the 2-2 goal your anti-Nurse bias may be showing. Many, me included, often use the term “less is more” when talking about Darnell. I do think that is solid advice for a guy who is a really talented player who occasionally bites off more than he can chew. But I want to be clear: That is not the same thing as asking a guy like Nurse just “stay at home”. We are talking about a guy who was a Top 25 scorer among NHL D-men last season, with 39 of those 43 points coming at even strength. He has a unique combination of skills that you do not just “park”. You just want Darnell to pick his spots more carefully. At least, that is what I want from him.

1.There is no other story in Oil Country right now that rivals the one that unfolded on Saturday after Connor McDavid sat out the remainder of the 3rd Period of the Jets game as well as the 3v3 Overtime. He appeared to either injure himself on an innocent looking neutral ice play with Mark Scheifele or aggravated something during that sequence that was already bothering him. He appeared to favor the area around his oblique or left hip flexor. McDavid was in conversation with the Oilers training crew for much of the end of the 3rd Period and again after appearing to “skate it off” during the brief break between that and O/T. I could guess at what it is but there are no shortage of apparent doctors already doing just that. So, instead let’s talk about what it may mean.

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First, do not let anyone kid you that somehow this opportunity might be good for the team. That will get said and it’s just wrong. No team is as good without their best player for any length of time let alone the one without the best player in the game. Former NHL-er Rob Brown, whose commentary I have long appreciated on Oilers radio broadcasts, has been talking about how good starts help sustain a team through the inevitable run of injuries. How could have Rob possible known how soon his words could prove so prophetic.

But for however much time this may cost McDavid (and hey, he may be right back at it next game) you have little choice but to take the next-man-up mentality. Each player has to do their very best work with every second of McDavid time that they are asked to absorb. And this Edmonton club is deeper than past ones.

In the short term, a team can get a bit of a bounce from an unfortunate situation such as this. For those players, it can be an opportunity to fill bigger roles and show their worth. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins can capably swing into the 2C slot for a period of time and Ryan McLeod becomes even more important.

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But here is where Ken Holland’s failure to bring in an actual 4C may come back to bite him. Because who’s kidding who? The risk to your team’s potential success grows exponentially with every single game that McDavid may miss.

That sound you hear is an entire fan base and organization drawing in their breath.

You just hope they can exhale sooner rather than later.

Now on Threads @kleavins. Also, find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins, Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, and Mastodon at [email protected]

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