MATHESON: Draisaitl likely to return as Oilers gear up for Kraken

You’ll likely see No. 29 back in the Edmonton Oilers line-up for the Seattle Kraken’s appearance at Rogers Place Tuesday unless centre Leon Draisaitl has a setback after Monday’s practice where the NHL’s second-leading scorer skated well, even doing sprints up ice with the rest of the players at the end of it.

No definitive word on the injury but he may have suffered a core-muscle strain.

“I think it’s recovered pretty well,” said Draisaitl, who was hurt in the 2-1 victory over the Flames in Calgary Dec. 27 and missed last Friday’s 7-2 win in Seattle and Saturday’s home tilt 2-1 loss against Winnipeg.

“It ended up healing a little quicker than I thought.”

Draisaitl was shoved into the open bench door by Elias Lindholm in Calgary. Maybe that exacerbated things. It seemed a dangerous play but Draisaitl sloughed it off. “It’s hockey. Probably a little frustration on his part but I’ve been there,” said Draisaitl.

“Leon and I actually skated yesterday (New Year’s Day),” said Oiler coach Jay Woodcroft, who was a high-flying offensive forward at Alabama Huntsville as a college player and as a minor-pro, but had trouble keeping up to Draisaitl.

“My wind isn’t where I would like it to be. That might be my New Year’s resolution,” he said.

Draisaitl has been very durable, also tough-minded when it comes to playing. He’s only missed nine games over the past seven seasons, and gutted it out through the playoffs last spring on one good leg after damaging his foot against Los Angeles Kings in round one.

“I haven’t followed up with our medical department but it was a good sign he was on the ice with us (practice) today,” said Woodcroft. “We all saw his play in the playoffs last year with some of the pain (high ankle sprain) he endured.”

HEALTHY SCARE

Klim Kostin, whose foot went hard into the boards in the dying seconds of the loss to Winnipeg, looked like he was hurt as he was helped off. But part of that was losing a skate blade, although he admitted he was shaken up.

“I extended my knee and it was hurt for a bit,” said Kostin, who was back for practice Monday, looking no worse for wear. “I lost my blade, but I couldn’t put weight on it (leg) too. After the game I went for a workout and told TD (athletic therapist Forss) I was ready for the next game.”

When Kostin, who scored the lone Oiler goal in the 2-1 loss, got on the last power play, it was a sign that the coaching staff’s trust is growing on the big winger. Also, the crowd loved it, giving him an ovation.

“My head was shaking (crowd noise). It was like ‘guys, calm down. I’m not 97, I’m (No.)21,’’’ said Kostin, who has five goals and nine points in 22 games.

“The only ovation I heard louder was the one for the Baltimore Ravens mascot yesterday (Sunday) when he returned from his injury,” said Woodcroft. “Obviously he’s endearing himself to his teammates and the coaching staff and our fan base. I see Klim taking advantage of an opportunity, he’s someone playing with a second and third effort and that’s something appreciated by our fan base.”

“It was insane (being out on the late PP). Everyone was looking to pass to me. I said, ‘no, no, no, I will just go in front of the net and screen the goalie. Don’t give me the puck”.

THROWING DOWN

Dylan Holloway had his first NHL fight in Seattle last Friday, dropping the mitts with Vince Dunn, who has had seven scraps, including a heavyweight Yakov Trenin (Nashville). Dunn, who has also fought Drake Caggiula, Sean Durzi and Andrei Svechnikov, had cross-checked Holloway and Holloway stood up for himself.

“I thought it went not bad. First fight in the NHL and I was pretty pumped about it. The big thing I learned was not to overthrow. I did and got off balance. I learned I have to stay tight and stay strong,” said Holloway.

Holloway didn’t fight in college (Wisconsin) because he was wearing a cage mask, and had none playing in Okotoks in the AJHL. He did have one in the playoffs with Bakersfield last year, though. Another educational experience.

“I was sticking up for a teammate who got hit pretty hard and got the guy and turned out he was a lefty. I grabbed the wrong arm,” he said.

FLIPPING A COIN

It appears the job for the No. 6 defenceman spot is a contest between Markus Niemelainen and fellow youngster Philip Broberg as veteran Ryan Murray (back) is on injured reserve. The kids have jockeyed back and forth for ice-time.

“In training camp, Broberg started on the team for roster cap reasons and he ended up going to Bakersfield and Niemelainen came back off the good camp that he had,” said Woodcroft. “Then we got to New York City (November, losing streak) and we felt we needed to stir the drink a little bit on the back-end and flipped those two (minors and NHL).”

“Then Broberg got hurt (practice ankle) before the Nashville-Dallas (dads’) trip before Christmas. There really hasn’t been a moment where we’re picking one over the other. Last game (against Winnipeg) Broberg was healthy and we didn’t get back from Seattle until three in the morning and wanted some fresh bodies in,” said Woodcroft.

Broberg looked like he was partnering with Evan Bouchard at practice Monday, with Niemelainen rotating in so Broberg could be in for the Kraken game.

“As we navigate our way forward, there’s going to be a competition to get into the lineup on the back-end and I wouldn’t limit it to those two.”

This ‘n’ that

Stuart Skinner was in the starter’s net for practice, so it appears he’ll get the nod against Seattle…The NHL will be staging the 2024 Discover Winter Classic in Seattle on New Year’s Day at T-Mobile Park, home of the baseball Mariners, against the Vegas Golden Knights.

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