Draisaitl Recovers Quicker Than Expected, Should Play Tuesday

Leon Draisaitl was back on the ice for the Edmonton Oilers during practice on Monday and reports are surfacing after the on-ice session that he’s feeling well enough that he’ll likely play in the game on Tuesday versus the Seattle Kraken.

Draisailt told reporters, including Reid Wilkins of 630 CHED, that he “recovered quicker than he thought he would from his injury. Expect him to play tomorrow.” Draisaitl has missed the last two games for the Oilers — one a victory over Seattle and the other a loss to the Winnipeg Jets — and the Oilers will be happy to have him back, particularly on the power play where Edmonton’s top-ranked power play unit was 0-5.

Draisaitl said he recovered quicker than he thought he would from his injury. Expect him to play tomorrow.

— Reid Wilkins (@ReidWilkins) January 2, 2023

After having a decent skate on December 31st, Draisaitl was skating on a regular line with Warren Foegele and Kailer Yamamoto and he’s likely to start on the second line Tuesday night with Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman, and Jesse Puljujarvi getting the top line start.

There was other good news for the Oilers Monday as Klim Kostin was also on the ice for practice. He fell awkwardly to end the game against the Jets and the injury looked fairly serious. That said, he posted a photo with McDavid on Instagram saying he was ready for Tuesday and at practice. That he was seemingly able to avoid something serious is great news for the player and good news for the team as Kostin has been a wonderful addition to the depth of the roster since over in a trade from St. Louis for Dmitry Samorukov.

The Oilers are 20-16-2 heading into Tuesday’s action.

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