Oilers play ‘one of our better games’ of season despite McDavid’s absence

EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers may have played one of their best games of the season on Wednesday despite being without Connor McDavid, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 5-1 at Rogers Place.

McDavid is day to day with a lower-body injury sustained in a 4-2 win at the Calgary Flames on Saturday. The rest of the Oilers picked up the slack in the convincing win against the defending Stanley Cup Champions, who have yet to secure a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“He’s the best player in the world, so it’s not easy, but I thought everybody that played tonight did a great job,” Oilers forward Corey Perry said. “We played collectively and that’s what we have to do. It’s the way we wanted to play, hard, physical, defense-first and it turns into offense.”

Wednesday was the third game McDavid missed because of injury this season. He sat out two games after sustaining an upper-body injury in a 3-2 overtime loss against the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 21. Edmonton lost 7-4 at the Minnesota Wild and were shut out 3-0 against the New York Rangers in McDavid’s absence.

Against the Golden Knights, the Oilers played strong defensively. Edmonton limited Vegas to 18 shots and did not take a penalty.

Zach Hyman and Leon Draisaitl each had a goal and assist, and Ryan McLeod and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had two assists. Dylan Holloway, who was recalled from Bakersfield of the AHL and inserted into the lineup to take McDavid’s spot, scored a goal.

“I think when you’re missing the best player in the world, you don’t try to replace him, I think everybody as a group, collectively, has to play better and I thought collectively it was one of our better games of the season,” Hyman said. “Everybody was on the same page and I thought Holloway coming into the lineup was fantastic, him and [McLeod] and [Perry] were probably our best line. They were skating and making plays, and when a guy like Connor is out, guys have to step up and I think they did.”

Edmonton was 1-for-3 on the power play, with Draisaitl scoring on a two-man advantage at 6:50 of the third period to give the Oilers a 4-0 lead. Forward Evander Kane moved up to the first power-play unit in the absence of McDavid, and Nugent-Hopkins took over the responsibility of carrying the puck up the ice and into the offensive zone.

“I don’t think anyone is going to fill the shoes of Connor bringing that puck up,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “But I think Ryan does a pretty good job of doing that. It’s a different look, and we only had limited power-play time, but definitely, ‘Nuge’ is a guy that is capable of doing that.”

It is not certain when McDavid was injured against Calgary. His last shift lasted 33 seconds and concluded at 17:27 of the third period, shortly after Flames forward Blake Coleman appeared to have fallen on McDavid’s trailing leg on a rush.

McDavid skated on his own Wednesday morning and was seen greeting his teammates on their way into the dressing room following the win.

McDavid has 130 points (31 goals, 99 assists) in 74 games and is third in the race for the Art Ross Trophy, which is awarded to the player with the most points in the regular season.

He trails Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who leads the NHL with 139 points (43 goals, 96 assists) in 77 games, and Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, who has 137 points (51 goals, 86 assists) in 79 games.

McDavid, who has 24 points (six goals, 18 assists) in his past 11 games, could return when Edmonton hosts the Arizona Coyotes on Friday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, SCRIPPS) or against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.

“He’s day to day,” Knoblauch said. “I think we’re very optimistic that he can play Friday, but we also have to consider that we are heading into a back to back. We’ll find out Friday.”

With the win against Vegas, Edmonton (48-24-5) moved within four points of the Vancouver Canucks, who have played two more games, for first place in the Pacific Division. Vancouver lost 4-3 in overtime to the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday.

The Oilers are also eight points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings, who are in third.

“Every team that I’ve coached, when you’re missing a star player or one of your better players, everyone needs to step up,” Knoblauch said. “They’re also excited about the opportunity. There’s 23 minutes that are going to be available for the taking and they get excited, and they know they have to step up.

“Everyone seems just a little more focused on their game because you’re missing somebody that’s going to be helping you, so you know you’re missing a key player that’s going to help you have success. Everyone just has to step up their game a little bit.”