Major update on Connor McDavid as Oilers keep falling apart

The Edmonton Oilers were playing their second straight game without captain Connor McDavid on Thursday night against the visiting New York Rangers and it was already too many… The Rangers took full advantage in a 3-0 win which brought on just another level of frustration in the Oilers’ dressing room, according to team insider Ryan Rishaug of TSN:

“This is an angry group now, and rightfully so. My understanding is that, I wouldn’t call it a players-only meeting, but leadership had some things to say as a group. Darnell Nurse, we heard some profanities there, some real frustration. This is about accountability within this group now.”

The Oilers could easily used the old excuse of the infirmary getting full early on in the season, but they refuse to do so. When it comes to McDavid, Oilers put a timetable of one to two weeks for what the team is calling an upper-body injury, but there was some encouraging news on Thursday when the captain skated on his own prior to his team’s game later on in the evening. Head coach Jay Woodcroft provided a brief update on his star player, shared again by Rishaug:

“Connor McDavid did skate [Thursday]. Woodcroft said he had a good day, but no update in terms of whether or not he may be available for the Heritage Classic coming up on the weekend. So, not a lot of information, but he was on the ice.”

Little has been said overall on McDavid’s injury though many suggest he was most likely injured during the Winnipeg Jets game Saturday. It is believe it occurred in the first period when McDavid got tangled up with Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey. The two tied up near the bench and fell to the ice, and the Oilers’ captain landed directly on his left side. Late in the game, he was seen reaching for that area twice during a shift and has missed action since.

The Oilers now have to adjust to life without McDavid and we saw how tough it was against the Rangers. Edmonton cannot rush his return, despite a very special event in the Heritage Classic against the Calgary Flames on Sunday. We get how tempting it would be for the Oilers to reinsert McDavid in the lineup as soon as possible, but for a group that cried out it was “Cup or Bust” this season, they cannot jeopardized the rest of the calendar by rushing McDavid back on the ice.
Stay tuned for the latest updates on his condition and when he can return to save his team, who’s having it rough so far in 2023-24…

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