Oilers Kris Knoblauch Reveals Team's Game Plan After McDavid Injury

PUBLICATION

Ryan Hall
October 30, 2024 (8:49 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

The Edmonton Oilers are now aware of how long their superstar Connor McDavid will be out with his ankle injury and head coach Kris Knoblauch spoke about his game plan to getting his players to step up.

The Oilers are currently mired in another slow start to their season with a record of 4-5-1 and troubles across all aspects of their game. The news took a turn for the worse when superstar Connor McDavid tumbled into the boards on the 1st shift against the Columbus Blue Jackets and hurt his ankle which is now pegged at two to three weeks of recovery time.

Knoblauch spoke to reporters and expressed that all players across the team will need to step up especially the players on the bottom 6 as they will get more ice time due to McDavid's absence. A player like McDavid easily eats up 22 plus minutes a game which now block reiterates that it will help the flow and the rhythm of those bottom six players and allow them to rise to the occasion.

Oilers fans will also get a glimpse of AHL call up Noah Philp who will make his NHL debut against the Nashville Predators. Many felt that he would remain with the Oilers through the first part of the season as he had a strong camp and gave a great impression to remain with the team.

The Oilers are waiting for several players to break out of their slumps including Zach Hyman who has no goals through 10 games along with Viktor Arvidsson who was recently signed during the summer as an unrestricted free agent.

The team will also need their goaltending and defence to improve immensely especially with Stuart Skinner who had a below .800 save percentage during the game against the Blue Jackets.

With McDavid out of the lineup, the old cliche of one game at a time comes into play and it's time for the Oilers to wake up and get their season back on track.