Another big blow to the Edmonton Oilers‘ lineup was announced on Tuesday with the news that defenceman Oscar Klefbom would be out with a shoulder injury.
“Klef’s been dealing with this for a little bit. It finally got to the point where we wanted to have a look at it,” head coach Dave Tippett said.
“He’s got a little procedure done, and he’s going to be out two weeks for sure, maybe a little bit more.”
Klefbom joins Connor McDavid (quad), James Neal (foot), Joakim Nygard (broken arm) and Kris Russell (concussion protocol) on the injured list.
Get daily news
Tippett said McDavid returned to Edmonton Monday to resume recovery from a quad injury.
The Oilers captain was injured in the team’s big win over the Nashville Predators on Feb. 8.
“Russell’s not ready to go. He skated earlier this morning, but he’s not anytime in the near term,” added Tippett. “James Neal has a couple of setbacks. He’s probably a couple of weeks away yet.”
The Oilers will also play five more games without winger Zack Kassian. He was suspended for seven games after kicking Erik Cernak while in Tampa Bay on Thursday.
The loss of Klefbom and McDavid means the team’s power play has taken a big hit.
Klefbom was limited to 61 games last season, mostly because of a hand injury suffered in December.
The Oilers are in action next against the Boston Bruins in Edmonton on Wednesday. The puck drops at 6:30 p.m. and 630 CHED will have all the action, starting with the Face-Off Show at 5 p.m.
– With files from Reid Wilkins/630 CHED