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NHL leading goalkeeper Leon Draisaitl played against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night in the second phase with no injuries disclosed but did not return.
Draisaitl seemed to be hurt midway through the second phase and slid carefully onto the bench before leaving for the locker room. After the game, coach Kris Knoblauch said he was not seriously injured.
Jeff Skinner scored a tiebreak shortly after Draisaitl left the game, giving the Oilers a 3-2 victory to keep them two points in the Pacific Division second and Home-Ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
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“Obviously, we’ve done some harm to the key characters,” Skinner said. “For others, it’s a lot of opportunities, and I think people have done well so far. We’re going to have to continue that and keep working together to get the results we want.”
Draisaitl was assisted earlier in the second phase. He leads the NHL with 52 goals and ranks third in the league with 106 points.
Drassel missed four games last month for not revealing the injury.
Since colliding with Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey on March 20, the Oilers have no star center Connor McDavid.
The playoffs began in just two weeks.
“You never want to miss those guys,” Nobrach said. “You will never want your top players not to play because every time you don’t play it, it will reduce your chances of winning because they are good players, but what happens is that others have some chance to play, gain some confidence, hopefully get some goals because we’re going to need them.”
Next
Oiler: Visit the King of Los Angeles on Saturday.
Shark: Host Seattle Cleken on Saturday.
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
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