Leon Draisaitl is ahead of Edmonton Oilers teammate Connor McDavid on the recovery timetable.
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters Wednesday that Draisaitl is nearing a return to the lineup.
"Leon will be back sooner than Connor. We're looking at about a week, maybe shorter for Leon, and Connor will be longer than that," Knoblauch told reporters after Draisaitl took morning skate.
Draisaitl got tangled up back on March 18 against Utah and suffered an undisclosed injury. He leads the league with 49 goals and the Oilers with 101 points.
McDavid appeared to tweak something in his lower body against the Winnipeg Jets last Thursday. He missed his last shift of the second period and did not return to the game.
McDavid has 89 points (26 goals, 63 assists) in 62 games. He scored the overtime winner for Canada to beat the U.S. in the 4 Nations Face-Off final.
Meanwhile, Knoblauch said the Oilres are hopeful Trent Frederic (lower-body injury) will start practising within a week or two. Frederic was injured when the Oilers acquired him in a trade with the Boston Bruins at the trade deadline.
The Oilers host the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. Watch the game on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+ at 10 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. MT.
2:53
1:38
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.