Injuries Piling up for Oilers, Who Lose Another Key Forward

Edmonton’s injury situation was already bad, but it just got worse. Reports out of Vancouver are that forward Zach Hyman did not make the road trip and will not be in the lineup as the Oilers try to rebound following a disappointing performance and an overtime loss in the opener.

Head coach Mike Babcock said he would share more details after practice, and then reported that Hyman will likely be out for two weeks. He was hurt in the preseason finale.

As injuries pile up, one has to wonder whether the Oilers are starting to look at options on the open market. A few names are still available and haven’t signed, including Michael Bunting and Vladimir Tarasenko. That said, it might be too early for such speculation.

The Oilers are already without Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jason Dickinson, Matt Savoie, Alec Regula, and Mattias Janmark. Nugent-Hopkins was placed on the IR, with Babcock saying he thought it might be two weeks. Forward Matt Savoie and defenceman Alec Regula have been placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR). Frederik Andersen is said to be out until December.

The Oilers have recalled Josh Samanski on an emergency basis for the game tonight, but it remains to be seen how the Oilers will deploy their lineup with so many key pieces out from their forward group.

We’ll be sure to update this story as more news about Hyman’s injury is revealed.

Next: The Oilers Are Already Playing Salary-Cap Jenga