Oilers Coach Reveals Connor McDavid Played With Ankle Injury In Playoffs – Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch revealed Saturday (May 2) that team captain Connor McDavid played injured during Edmonton’s first-round playoff series loss to the Anaheim Ducks.

McDavid and fellow Oilers center Jason Dickinson “both have broken ankles, playing in a lot of pain,” Knoblauch said during the team’s news conference at Rogers Place.

“Those were two very important accidents. They spent a lot of time with the training staff going through that, but obviously it affected their performance, but they were very appreciative of wanting to be there and play a big role like they did during the qualifiers.”

Anaheim defeated Edmonton 4-2 in the best-of-seven series. The Oilers’ season ended 5-2 at the Honda Center in Game 6 on Thursday (April 30).

McDavid played in every game of the series, recording one goal and five assists. Dickinson was fit for four of the six games, tallying two goals and one assist.

McDavid’s Injury Happened In Game 2

Although Knoblauch didn’t say it clearly, all signs indicate that McDavid was injured in the second period of Game 2, when he collided with his right leg with Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm. After colliding with Ekholm, Edmonton’s captain left the bench for a while before returning to the game.

The Oilers, who opened the series with a dramatic 4-3 victory, advanced to Game 2 by a score of 6-4. That was the first of three straight wins for Anaheim, building a 3-1 lead that could prove too much for the Oilers to come back from.

McDavid Performs Under Series

The revelation that McDavid played through pain helps explain what was a terrible series by his standards. The NHL’s regular season scoring leader was held scoreless in three of six games, scored just once, and finished the series with a plus/minus of minus-8, setting a new record for the lowest average by a goaltender in a single series in Oilers postseason history.

While McDavid was still able to reach top speed on end-to-end runs, he didn’t seem right throughout the series, both mentally and physically. He played in 13 games in the series, just two fewer than he did in the previous 23 postseason games. The Oilers desperately needed one of McDavid’s signature Superman plays in this series, and they didn’t get it.

McDavid’s Injury Causes Loss of New Content

Oilers fans were devastated when Edmonton was eliminated on Thursday. Expectations were incredibly high for a team that was the two-time defending Western Conference champions and had advanced to at least the second round the past four seasons, and there was real belief in the Alberta capital that the Oilers would take the series back to Rogers Place for Game 7.

But the news of McDavid’s injury puts everything in a new context. Even if they somehow manage to beat Anaheim and advance to the next round, it’s very hard to imagine how the Oilers will move forward with McDavid injured. Edmonton would have had a hard time getting past the hot Vegas Golden Knights in Round 2.

Dickinson Missed Again by Oilers

While all the focus is on McDavid’s health, Dickinson’s injury is being ignored. The veteran center, who the Oilers acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks just before the trade deadline, was the first star in Edmonton’s Game 1 victory when he scored two goals. Dickinson then sat out Games 2 and 3 before returning for the rest of the series, but it was clear he wasn’t 100 percent.

Dickinson is believed to have suffered the injury on April 8, when he blocked the ball against the San Jose Sharks. He sat out that game and subsequently sat out Edmonton’s final three regular-season contests before returning for Game 1 against Anaheim.

The 31-year-old Dickinson may not play another shift for the Oilers; he becomes a free agent on July 1 and can sign with any of the other 31 NHL clubs. McDavid, on the other hand, will have his longest season in years, giving him plenty of time to recover for the 2026-27 NHL season.