Connor McDavid will be eligible to return from his three-game suspension when the Edmonton Oilers play host to the Seattle Kraken on Monday night.
McDavid received the ban from the NHL for crosschecking the Vancouver Canucks’ Conor Garland in the head late in a game on Jan. 18.
Without being able to don his jersey for games, the three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner and five-time scoring champion spent nearly 80 minutes on the ice after practice on Wednesday working on his game.
“I love to play. What am I going to do? I’d rather be on the ice than sitting at home resting,” McDavid said. “It’s not like I can get a week away in Cabo, so I’m here.
“I want to support the team. I want to be here for the team. I want to be here to get myself ready to roll when it’s time. I’ll have six games before the (4 Nations Face-Off) break, and we want to go into the break on a high note. I always feel that’s important. How you go into a break is important, and that’s my main focus here.”
The Oilers went 2-1-0 without McDavid, who missed the first three games of Edmonton’s six-game homestand. The Oilers suffered a 3-2 loss against the league-leading Washington Capitals before bouncing back with a 6-2 victory against Vancouver and a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
“I thought we probably deserved to win the Washington game, the Vancouver game, and then this one probably not,” Oilers forward Zach Hyman said after Saturday’s victory against the Sabres. “So, it all evens out, right? That’s kind of how things work in hockey.”
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two goals against Buffalo, including the go-ahead marker in the third period. Stuart Skinner made 39 saves for the Oilers, who have won six of their past eight games.
The victory moved Edmonton into sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division for the first time since Dec. 21, 2021.
“Obviously, it is our goal to keep racking up points and get as high as we possibly can. It is nice to see that,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “There’s a long way to go and obviously the job’s not finished here.”
On Monday, the Kraken will be playing on the road for the only time in a 10-game stretch. They went 3-1-0 on a four-game homestand, with the only blemish a 3-0 defeat against Washington, and they will have five more contests in Seattle before the break.
Seattle is coming off a 4-1 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. Joey Daccord made 28 saves, a performance that included him stopping all 13 shots he faced in the third period.
The goaltender has won five of his past seven starts.
“I try to just be the same every day,” Daccord said. “I know if I just play like myself and play like I’m able to, then I don’t need to elevate above what I’m capable of at a consistent level. So I just try to bring the same mindset, the same focus, same energy levels every single day.”
Defenseman Vince Dunn scored what proved to be the game-winning goal on a five-on-three power play late in the second period against Pittsburgh.
“We just played with a little bit more confidence (than against Washington),” said forward Jared McCann, who had two assists on Saturday and leads the Kraken with 38 points (14 goals, 24 assists) this season.
–Field Level Media
