EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid did not play for the Edmonton Oilers in a 5-1 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday because of a lower-body injury.
“I think Connor knows what the big picture is," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said after the morning skate. "I believe that he is competitive and wants to contribute as much as possible and not take himself out of the lineup, but I think he understands where our team is at, and obviously where his body’s at, and what we are looking for in the future."
McDavid missed practice for the second straight day on Tuesday after he had two assists in a 4-2 win at the Calgary Flames on Saturday. McDavid’s final shift of that game lasted 33 seconds, concluding at 17:19 of the third period. He went to the bench after he was taken down by Flames forward Blake Coleman while driving to the net.
The Oilers (48-24-5) are second in the Pacific Division, three points behind the Vancouver Canucks for first and eight points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings. The Golden Knights hold the second wild card in the West, one point behind the Kings.
McDavid is third in the race for the Art Ross Trophy, which is awarded to the player with the most points in the regular season. He has 130 points (31 goals, 99 assists), seven behind Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (51 goals, 86 assists), and nine behind Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning (43 goals, 96 assists). McDavid has 30 points (eight goals, 22 assists) in his past 14 games.
Edmonton forward Dylan Holloway, recalled from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League on Tuesday, scored against Vegas. Holloway has five points (four goals, one assist) in 33 NHL games this season.
“The most important thing is the playoffs and that we are ready,” Knoblauch said Tuesday. “I think we’ve got depth. Obviously, you’re not going to replace Connor, but we do have other healthy bodies when we’re short a man. We want to make sure we’re as healthy as possible going into playoffs.”
Earlier this season, McDavid missed two games after sustaining an upper-body injury in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 21. He returned to play against the Flames in the 2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic on Oct. 29, when he had an assist in a 5-2 win at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.
“I think Connor probably has the most influence on what happens, and (athletic therapist) T.D. (Forss) would know how he can handle it or the risk of making it worse or playing through it and deciding between those two,” Knoblauch said. “... I’ll be getting that information mostly from those two important guys.”
