Oilers' star Leon Draisaitl ruled out for the rest of regular season with a lower-body injury
· Yahoo Sports
The Edmonton Oilers announced on Tuesday that they expect star forward Leon Draisaitl will miss the rest of the regular season due to a lower-body injury.
Draisaitl, the 2020 Hart Trophy winner as league MVP and runner-up for the award last season, was hit along the benches by Ozzy Wiesblatt of the Nashville Predators during Sunday's game. Draisaitl left the game in the first period after taking two more shifts and did not return.
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Leon Draisaitl appeared to be injured after taking a hard hit early in the first period from Ozzy Wiesblatt.
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Draisaitl was not on the bench to start the second, and didn't play the rest of the game. Kris Knoblauch had no update on his status after the game. pic.twitter.com/PaLTn6wKxa
The Oilers did not say if Draisaitl's injury will keep him out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which begin on April 18. With 14 games left in the regular season, the Edmonton sits third in the Pacific Division with a 33-26-9 record.
"Obviously, he's a top-four scorer, one of the most elite players in the League, so it's not like one guy can just step into his shoes," said forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on Tuesday. "We kind of talked about it this morning; it's a collective thing with our group that everybody's going to need a to pick up the slack."
The 30-year-old Draisaitl is tied for sixth in goals scored with 35 and is fourth in the NHL with 97 points.
This injury is the second to knock one of the NHL's stars out for the season. Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews suffered a torn MCL and quad contusion after taking a knee-on-knee hit from Radko Gudas of the Anaheim Ducks. Gudas has since been suspended five games.