EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid said he feels “good” but did not play in the Edmonton Oilers' 3-2 overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes at Rogers Place on Friday, missing a second straight game.
Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said McDavid also will not play against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY, TVAS2).
“I want to feel at my best and that’s not the case tonight,” the Oilers captain said after participating in an optional morning skate Friday. “I never want to miss games, I really don’t, it’s frustrating. At the end of the day, we’re after bigger things here and everyone being healthy is priority No. 1.”
McDavid had two assists in a 4-2 win at the Calgary Flames on Saturday but appeared to sustain a lower-body injury late in the third period. He was asked if the injury occurred during the game or if he aggravated a previous injury.
“That’s a good question,” McDavid said. “Probably a little bit of both.”
McDavid is third in NHL with 130 points (31 goals, 99 assists) in 74 games, behind Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (141 points; 43 goals, 98 assists in 78 games) and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (137 points; 51 goals, 86 assists in 79 games).
Edmonton defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 5-1 on Wednesday without McDavid in the lineup, the third game he has missed because of injury this season. He sustained an upper-body injury in a 3-2 overtime loss against the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 21 and did not play the next two games, a 7-4 loss at the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 24 and a 3-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Oct. 26.
“It was great,” McDavid said of the win against Vegas. “I thought they played really well, they were in control the whole night. There were no stressful moments, it was great.”
The Oilers (48-24-6), who have clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, are second in the Pacific Division, three points behind the Canucks with a game in hand; they earned one point Friday to clinch at least second place in the Pacific and home-ice advantage in the Western Conference First Round.
"Yeah, [I’m] extremely confident that it’ll turn the corner quick and be ready to go,” McDavid said. “... We’ve really been taking it a day at a time and we’ve been making decisions day to day.”
Prior to the loss Friday, the Oilers had won three straight and were 6-1-1 in their previous eight games, and 10-0-1 in their previous 11 at home.
“I really like where we’re at, I think we played some really good hockey the past three games,” McDavid said. “Since our slip-up there in Dallas (a 5-0 loss at Dallas Stars on April 3), I feel like our game has been really good and where it needs to be. With that being said, with our group, there is always going to be line tinkering and there is always going to be that type of thing going on.”
Edmonton concludes the season by hosting the San Jose Sharks on Monday and traveling to face the Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche back to back on Wednesday and Thursday.
“We still have lots to play for coming down the stretch," McDavid said. "We keep saying that there’s seeding, there’s positioning, there’s all those types of things, all while maintaining a healthy group.
“I’m not really a big believer in resting guys. With that being said, six games in nine days is a lot, so if we rest guys, that’s just the circumstances we’re in. I think you want to be pedal to the metal, foot on the gas all the way to the end and into that Game 1.”
