Oilers News & Rumors: Draisaitl, Frederic, Kane, Pickard

Over the last 24 hours, the Edmonton Oilers organization has released some big news. Following an injury to Leon Draisaitl, the coach revealed how long he’ll be out, plus there are updates on the returns of Trent Frederic and Evander Kane. Finally, Calvin Pickard will get his fifth-straight start.

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Draisaitl to Miss Some Time, Back Before Regular Season Ends

Oilers play-by-play announcer Jack Michaels posted on Friday, “No timeline on Draisaitl, but he won’t play tomorrow, likely out for Monday in Anaheim, but should be back “well before playoffs.” Knoblauch noted that the injury is “short-term,” and he is not concerned about Draisaitl’s playoff readiness.

This is great news for the Oilers as it looked like Draisaitl might have reaggravated a previous injury when he left Thursday’s game versus the San Jose Sharks in the second period.

Trent Frederic Could Play Saturday vs. Kings

Trent Frederic was in regular rotation at practice on Friday and on a line with Zach Hyman and Adam Henrique. He was slotted in the top six and looks to be making his debut for the Oilers versus the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday afternoon.

The Oilers are hoping that over the last few games, Frederic can come in and build chemistry. With some key players out, he’ll get plenty of ice time and a chance to show Oilers fans what he can bring to the team.

Evander Kane is Not Coming Back Early

A rumor that Evander Kane might go on a conditioning stint this week in Bakersfield popped up, but Sportsnet’s Mark Spector seemed to shoot that down fairly quickly. “Though it seems a valid question, my understanding is that Evander Kane will NOT remain in California for a rehab assignment with Bakersfield. He could still go there, but not for the coming weekend’s games.”

We reached out to Puck Pedia to see if theories that the Oilers could put someone else on LTIR were possible to take Kane off, it doesn’t work that way at this point in the season. As per Puck Pedia, “Players can’t be added to LTIR now; there aren’t 10 games and 24 days left in the season.”

Pickard Starts vs. Kings

There was some chatter that maybe Olivier Rodrigue might get a start against the Kings on Saturday, but it will be Calvin Pickard’s net. In his last six starts, he’s 5-1-0 with a .920 SV%. This will be his fifth straight start.

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