Connor McDavid was back on the ice at Edmonton Oilers practice on Thursday afternoon.
The team’s captain also skated by himself for a couple of hours before the practice.
McDavid has missed the last five games with a quad injury. The team originally said he would miss two to three weeks, which would put his return on Tuesday in Anaheim at the earliest. However, McDavid didn’t shoot down the possibility of returning Friday against Minnesota.
“We’re taking it day by day. We’ll see,” McDavid said.
“The doctors certainly have a say in it,” Oilers head coach Dave Tippett said. “It’s an injury that they want to make sure is healed and you can’t hurt any worse.
“I’d rather take an extra couple days now than have him set back a week or 10 days.”
“I talked to him briefly yesterday,” said Oilers general manager Ken Holland. “He’s doing good. I know he’s going to go on the road trip with us to California.”
The Oilers will play in Los Angeles on Sunday, in Anaheim on Tuesday and in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
McDavid appeared to be skating comfortably at practice but said he needs to check certain boxes before he feels he can return.
“Just not feeling it anymore. Just to go out and be pain free and not have it act up after the game or something like that,” McDavid said.
“You want it to be solid moving forward for this long run and long stretch of hockey that we’re going to have here in March, and hopefully in the playoffs.”
The Oilers have gone 3-1-1 with McDavid out of the lineup.
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