Leon Draisaitl Injury Against San Jose Not as Serious as Expected
Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, who suffered a lower-body injury last night against the San Jose Sharks, may be back sooner than expected. Oilers Head Coach Kris Knoblauch called Draisaitl’s injury “short-term,” and specified that he could be back “well before” playoffs.
Oilers Get Good News on Leon Draisaitl Injury
Draisaitl, the NHL’s current goal-scoring leader with 52 tucks in 71 games, left last night’s game during the second period and did not return. As per Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, this is a new injury for Draisaitl. The star forward was hurt after taking a hit from Sharks forward Barclay Goodrow.
Despite his absence, Edmonton went on to win their game 3–2. While he “will not be playing tomorrow,” labelling the injury as “short-term” is a good sign for Oilers fans.
“We’re not too concerned, especially with Leon’s pain tolerance and things that he’s played through before,” Knoblauch added regarding the severity of the injury.
“He’s out short-term, but we don’t have a time frame… Don’t believe it’s going to be something that’s going to head into the playoffs. We think he’s gonna be back well before that.”
Draisaitl Dealing With Injury Concerns
This is the second time Draisaitl has missed time due to an injury in the past month. He previously missed four games near the end of March. Draisaitl did not dress for the team’s March 20 matchup against the Winnipeg Jets, marking the first time this season that he missed a game. Draisaitl returned on March 29, helping the Oilers to back-to-back 3-2 wins against the Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights. He put up two goals and two assists during his short stint back.
Draisaitl is not the only star forward that Edmonton is currently missing. Oilers Captain Connor McDavid suffered a lower-body injury against the Jets and has yet to return. Despite missing the past six games, he was seen in a non-contact jersey during Edmonton’s practice on Tuesday. McDavid is also expected to return before the postseason begins.
Edmonton’s Playoff Rivals
The Oilers are riding a three-game win streak and will look to continue that tomorrow against the Los Angeles Kings. At this rate, it also looks like Edmonton will face the Kings in the first round of the playoffs. This would be the fourth consecutive year of a Los Angeles and Edmonton first-round matchup.
Since their first recent playoff series in 2021, the Oilers have slowly shaved one game off of each series. They beat the Kings in seven games in 2022, six games in 2023, and five games in 2024.
The Florida Panthers Are Without Top Forward for the Weekend
Paul Maurice has some news for the Florida Panthers today, and it’s not what the fans want to hear. Aleksander Barkov will miss at least the weekend’s games with an upper-body injury. He’s currently listed as day-to-day. The Panthers are firmly on their Montreal to Windsor corridor trip. Montreal twice, Toronto, Ottawa (tomorrow), and Detroit (Sunday). Four games in a row on the road, and they finish with Toronto, Detroit, and Buffalo at home. Winning the division won’t come easy. Barkov (upper body) is day to day and out for this weekend, per Maurice. Bobrovsky in net vs. Ottawa. — [
Toronto Maple Leafs D-Man Could Miss Multiple Games
The Toronto Maple Leafs may have to deal with some injury concerns as we near the end of the regular season. News emerged on Friday afternoon that Jake McCabe is injured and could miss multiple games. An update was given by Toronto Head Coach Craig Berube after practice. Maple Leafs’ Jake McCabe, David Kampf out Saturday vs. Blue Jackets — DailyFaceoff.com (@dailyfaceoff.bsky.social) 2025-04-04T18:41:37Z Jake McCabe Injured; Could Miss More Than One Game McCabe left Wednesday’s 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers with an undisclosed injury. He collide with a linesman and was involved in a hit with Panthers forward Carter
