Oilers star Connor McDavid shall be within the lineup Wednesday in opposition to the Golden Knights simply 9 days after he suffered an ankle harm, the workforce knowledgeable reporters, together with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
McDavid suffered the harm simply 37 seconds into his first shift in opposition to the Blue Jackets on Oct. 28. He fell awkwardly into the boards on his left leg whereas trying to chop round Columbus defenseman Ivan Provorov.
The Oilers initially said McDavid would miss two to 3 weeks with the harm. The earliest that timeline would have allowed him to return was subsequent Tuesday in opposition to the Islanders. As a substitute, he’s again within the lineup 5 days and two video games forward of schedule.
An early return isn’t completely surprising after McDavid returned to follow earlier this week and declared himself day-to-day. Speaking with reporters on Monday, he implied he was focusing on Saturday in opposition to the Canucks as a return date. Nevertheless, a fast turnaround time means he’s again in to face a key divisional rival in Vegas.
Earlier than the harm, McDavid was off to a sluggish begin by his requirements. The five-time Artwork Ross Trophy winner had three objectives and 7 assists for 10 factors in 10 video games, on tempo for the worst point-per-game fee of his 10-year NHL profession.
He’s nonetheless bought loads of time to show issues round, although, and a three-game absence received’t take a chunk out of his end-of-season totals an excessive amount of. He missed six contests final season with varied accidents and nonetheless managed to tie for the league lead with 100 assists.
McDavid, 27, will middle Zach Hyman and Jeff Skinner in his return Wednesday evening, per team TV host Tony Brar. It’s a little bit of a brand new look. He’d spent almost all of his time with Hyman earlier than the harm however had alternated between Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on his different wing.
The Oilers will take the assistance and the return of their captain as they start to hit their stride. After dropping their first three video games, the defending Western Convention champions are 6-3-1 of their previous 10 and are one level again of the Blues for the second wild-card spot.
McDavid by no means landed on injured reserve, so no transactions are required for him to return to play.
