Jay Woodcroft has been dealing from a pretty thin deck the last few weeks with three of his top nine forwards recovering from injury and a fourth, Kailer Yamamoto, having just returned after 11 games out.
But it looks like winger Warren Foegele is ready to go and centre Ryan McLeod will be on his heels. Both players were injured in the Nov. 26 comeback win over the New York Rangers.
“I just went out today and shot on the goalie for the first time in three weeks,” McLeod said after taking part in Friday’s optional practice. “It’s going to be a bit, still. I don’t really know a timeline yet. But it’s progressing really well. No tweaks today, it was a good skate.”
McLeod didn’t feel like the injury was all that that severe at the time, but 10 games later he’s still not 100 per cent.
“It was pretty late in the third in the New York game,” he said. “It felt a little off. We taped it up on the bench and I said, ‘I can play through this,’ and after I took the boot off it wasn’t feeling too good.
“It’s tough, you never want to get hurt, especially when you feel like a little bit of momentum is coming your way, but I think I’ll come back even stronger so I’m looking forward to it.”
McLeod would provide much-needed depth at centre, freeing up Woodcroft to be more creative with his chess pieces.
“I thought it was positive that he skated with the group today,” said the coach. “It’s still not a full team skate, but I thought it was a positive that he’s out there. He has the type of injury that you have to make sure you’re monitoring and see how he responds as you ratchet up his work level.”
READY AND WILLING
Foegele, on the other hand, says he’s good to go as soon as Saturday afternoon against the (8-20-3) Anaheim Ducks. He colliding with a Rangers player in the same game McLeod got hurt in and has been grinding his way back ever since.
“It was kind of a freak accident,” he said. “I’ve been working really hard with the staff here trying to get healthy. It’s been a good couple of weeks. I’m just waiting for the call.”
After a slow start to the season, Foegele was beginning to pick up speed, scoring three goals in eight games right before getting injured, so that part made the situation even more difficult.
“I thought I was trending in the right direction so that’s what makes it more frustrating. But it’s good to be back.”
His road back involved a bit of detour.
“I had a little bit of a setback one day and it kind of turned into something else, as well. Our staff has been so great with with me. We’ve been working really hard, long hours here. I’m thankful for all the work to get me back as quick as possible.
“Coming back I have to be able to skate and if I’m not doing that I’m not doing my job. I’m just trying to come back and play the way I was playing before.”
HANGING IN
Despite all the injuries, the Oilers have persevered to the tune of 7-3-1 in their last 11 games, a stand they needed to make in order to save their season. They were barely over .500 when the bodies started falling (8-6-0 when Kane and Yamamoto were injured in Tampa and 11-10-0 when Foegele and McLeod got hurt in New York), so they couldn’t afford to sag.
“We’ve been great, we really have,” said McLeod. “Everybody has has been doing their role and the power play has been clicking really well, which is a huge help for us. And our goalie is playing really well.”
TAKE A SEAT
Asked Friday why he doesn’t bench veteran players when they make mistakes, as sometimes happens with younger players, Woodcroft said it’s a tack he doesn’t use very often with anyone.
“If you look at our history, we’re quite open to putting people right back on the ice when they make mistakes,” he said, adding veteran players earn their extra rope and, more often than not, benchings come from ignoring responsibilities rather than honest mistakes.
“There are errors of commission and errors of omission. When you see errors of omission, that’s when you see a larger reduction or pull back.”
ENOUGH ABOUT ST. LOUIS
Woodcroft understands that people are upset after his team gave up a 3-1 lead with just over eight minutes to play in the third period, including a shorthanded equalizer, but he’s done with the St. Louis analysis.
“We beat that game right up. We’ve studied it, we’ve had our meetings and we’re going to take it with us as we go forward. Hopefully it makes us better. I’m excited to see how our team and individuals respond in tomorrow’s game with Anaheim.”
HE SAID IT
“He’s playing big minutes against the best players in the world. He’s going to play 1,000 games and there are going to be a couple he’d like back. I’ve had a million of those myself. It’s part of the game and you move on.” — Tyson Barrie on Darnell Nurse taking blame for the St. Louis loss.
Twitter.com/rob_tychkowski
rtychkowski@postmedia.com
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