The Edmonton Oilers are enjoying an extended five-day break between games, but that doesn’t mean they will be fully healthy when it ends.
Edmonton’s next game will be on Friday as the franchise plays its first-ever game in Salt Lake City against the Utah Hockey Club. The Oilers will have to play that game without forwards Zach Hyman and Viktor Arvidsson, both of whom are dealing with undisclosed injuries.
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch provided an update on both players after practice this morning, saying that they do not expect either player to be in the lineup for Friday or Saturday’s games against the Colorado Avalanche.
“We’re looking at anywhere between five to eight days with both of those guys,” said Knoblauch. “When a player has an injury, you think it’s going to heal, or there is a timeline, but there are always hiccups, and it doesn’t go as planned.”
“The last three or four weeks, he’s pretty much been one of our better forwards every single night. Just consistent & he’s putting up some points… His overall game has been really good.”
Coach Knoblauch on Mattias Janmark’s recent performances.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/0hCknHom8a
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 25, 2024
The Oilers have not provided details on the nature of either player’s injury. In the case of Arvidsson, the initial prognosis was that it was not a serious issue and would not keep him out long. This update will cause him to miss at least eight games with the current injury after having suffered it against the New York Islanders on November 12.
“It was day-to-day [initially with Arvidsson],” Knoblauch revealed. “It just didn’t heal the way it was initially thought; it was still kind of lingering and if we were in the playoffs he would push through this.”
Hyman, on the other hand, has only missed two games with his injury. He was on the receiving end of a brutal open-ice hit from Montreal Canadiens defender Arber Xhekaj last week. It didn’t appear to injure him at first as he finished the game and then played in the first two periods of Edmonton’s next game against the Ottawa Senators.
While the team is not expecting those players for the next two games on the schedule, Knoblauch did not rule them out for next Tuesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights. At this time, he is unsure if Hyman and Arvidsson will join the team on the trip, but he is hopeful.
“I think they would,” Knoblauch said.
Meanwhile, the Oilers will have to decide on their forward group. They will either have to call up a forward from the AHL, most likely Drake Caggiula, or run an 11/7 formation for at least two more games.
With plenty of time left before their next game, Knoblauch will have some time to mull over his options.