Oilers’ top players Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to miss 3 more games

TOI Sports Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Mar 25, 2025, 20:14 IST

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Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will miss three upcoming Edmonton Oilers games, including matches against the Dallas Stars, Seattle Kraken, and Calgary Flames. Despite their absence, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins excelled with a hat trick to secure a victory over the Kraken. Coach Kris Knoblauch praised Nugent-Hopkins for his versatility and critical contributions to the team.

Oilers’ top players Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to miss 3 more games

(Image via Getty)

The Superstar Duo - 28 YO Canadian professional ice hockey center and captain for the Edmonton Oilers, Connor McDavid, and 29 YO German professional ice hockey center and alternate captain for the Edmonton Oilers, Leon Draisaitl, are set to miss three upcoming NHL games, according to Jason Gregor of Daily Faceoff. The three upcoming NHL games of the Edmonton Oilers are against the Dallas Stars, Seattle Kraken, and Calgary Flames.

Jason Gregor took to his X and shared these two posts, “McDavid and Draisaitl unlikely to play any of the three games this week.” and “Oilers try to stay in race for home ice despite injuries. Kings have best home record in the NHL and play 9 of final 13 at home. They and Oilers battling for second place, with outside chance to catch Vegas. No McDavid or Draisaitl this week for EDM.” X users react to it: “Love this. Learn how to play without them and take initiative. This will do wonders for our depth.”, “So Leon not even back for Calgary”, “So much for home ice advantage”.

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl’s absence did not prevent hidden gem Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from shining bright

On Saturday, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl missed the match against the Seattle Kraken. This did not affect 31 YO ice hockey player for the Edmonton Oilers, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, from putting his best foot forward. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins accumulated a hat trick score against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, taking his team, Edmonton Oilers’ score to 5-4 and winning against the Kraken! In that match, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins played as an ice hockey center, but head coach Kris Knoblauch called him an all-rounder.

Head coach for the Edmonton Oilers, Kris Knoblauch, talked about Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' excellent performance in the post-game conference, “Ryan’s playing his best hockey of the year right now. He’s got a lot more confidence being in the middle of the ice-making plays, but he’s primarily been a first-line left winger, the first power-play unit, and the first penalty killer over the boards. Whether we are down a goal, up a goal, we rely on him quite a bit, and Leon(Draisaitl) joked last year about him being the coach’s favorite, but we certainly appreciate everything that Ryan does for the team.”
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TOI Sports Desk

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