Oilers Coach Knoblauch Addresses Injury Status of Zach Hyman and Victor Arvidsson

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Liam McCormick
November 21, 2024 (11:51)

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Moments ago at Oilers practice, head coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed that both Zach Hyman and Victor Arvidsson will miss tonight's game and more later this week.

Zach Hyman was injured during the second period of the Oilers game against the Ottawa Senators, and Coach Knoblauch confirmed that he was deemed unable to return to the game.

It was never seen how Victor Arvidsson was injured either, but the Oilers forward was initially just supposed to miss practice with a maintenance day.

Both Hyman and Arvidsson then have been ruled out until after this Saturday's game when the Oilers take on the New York Rangers.

After playing the Rangers, the Oilers will get a much needed break to heal up from these injuries. The Oilers have all of next week off, until they play Friday, November 29th against the Utah Hockey Club.

Darnell Nurse also had an update on his injury, being ruled out for the game tonight, but could possibly play Saturday.

Without their two top six right wingers, the Oilers have reunited Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the first line and added recent waiver claim Kasperi Kapanen to the second line.

The lack of detail surrounding these Oilers injuries can be incredibly frustrating, especially in Arvidsson's case who seems to have suffered a big setback in a minor injury.

However, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman just touched upon this issue in the 32 Thoughts Blog. Simply put, players hate the idea of reporting injury information, and that's why it's essentially censored.

I recognize that NHLers hate the idea of greater transparency with the passion of 1,000 burning suns. Their arguments are fair, ranging from: «Its private, none of your business» to «I'm going to get targeted if opponents know.» I don't expect anything to change beyond «upper-body, lower body».
- Elliotte Friedman, 32 Thoughts

For now, all fans can hope for is that the injuries sustained are relatively minor, and the players are able to heal up quickly to get back on the ice.

The Oilers will take on the Minnesota Wild at home tonight, looking to continue their great effort over the Ottawa Senators last time out. If they can get a win with this jumbled-up lineup, it'll be a full team effort.