Prior to Wednesday's game between the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights, Connor McDavid was taking rushes with the starting line during practice, according to tweets from Ryan Rishaug and Bob Stauffer. According to new tweets from the team and Elliotte Friedman, McDavid will be in the starting lineup, indicating a much earlier return to the Oilers.
The potential lines for tonight's game were tweeted by Stauffer. He pointed out that McDavid and Zach Hyman were skating with Jeff Skinner. Viktor Arvidsson, Leon Draisaitl, and Vasily Podkolzin continued to be in the same line. Adam Henrique was with Connor Brown and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Noah Philp was the additional forward, and Mattias Janmark was accompanied by Derek Ryan and Corey Perry.
On October 28, only 37 seconds into his first shift against the Blue Jackets, McDavid suffered the injury. While trying to cut around Columbus defenseman Ivan Provorov, he stumbled and crashed onto his left leg into the boards.
At first, the Oilers predicted that McDavid would be sidelined for two to three weeks due to the injury. Next Tuesday's game against the Islanders would have been the earliest that timeframe would have permitted his return. Rather, he returns to the starting lineup two games and five days early.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 6 | 141 ANSWERS Edmonton Oilers make surprising announcement on Connor McDavid's injury status Was Connor McDavid rushed back? | ||
| Yes | 103 | 73 % |
| No | 38 | 27 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
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APRIL 30, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Quinn Hughes | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Wyatt Johnston | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Matt Duchene | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Marcus Foligno | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mikko Rantanen | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nico Sturm | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Oskar Back | - | - | - | |
| Jamie Benn | - | - | - | |
| Lian Bichsel | - | - | - | |
| Colin Blackwell | - | - | - | |
| Zach Bogosian | - | - | - | |
| Matthew Boldy | - | - | - | |
| Mavrik Bourque | - | - | - | |
| Michael Bunting | - | - | - | |
| Joel Eriksson Ek | - | - | - | |
| Brock Faber | - | - | - | |
| Radek Faksa | - | - | - | |
| Nick Foligno | - | - | - | |
| Thomas Harley | - | - | - | |
| Ryan Hartman | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||
| 2025-2026 NHL STANDINGS | ||||||
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Sabres | 82 | 50 | 23 | 9 | 109 | |
| Lightning | 82 | 50 | 26 | 6 | 106 | |
| Canadiens | 82 | 48 | 24 | 10 | 106 | |
| Bruins | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 100 | |
| Senators | 82 | 44 | 27 | 11 | 99 | |
| Red Wings | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 92 | |
| Panthers | 82 | 40 | 38 | 4 | 84 | |
| Maple Leafs | 82 | 32 | 36 | 14 | 78 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Hurricanes | 82 | 53 | 22 | 7 | 113 | |
| Penguins | 82 | 41 | 25 | 16 | 98 | |
| Flyers | 82 | 43 | 27 | 12 | 98 | |
| Capitals | 82 | 43 | 30 | 9 | 95 | |
| Blue Jackets | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 92 | |
| Islanders | 82 | 43 | 34 | 5 | 91 | |
| Devils | 82 | 42 | 37 | 3 | 87 | |
| Rangers | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 77 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Avalanche | 82 | 55 | 16 | 11 | 121 | |
| Stars | 82 | 50 | 20 | 12 | 112 | |
| Wild | 82 | 46 | 24 | 12 | 104 | |
| Mammoth | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 92 | |
| Blues | 82 | 37 | 33 | 12 | 86 | |
| Predators | 82 | 38 | 34 | 10 | 86 | |
| Jets | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 82 | |
| Blackhawks | 82 | 29 | 39 | 14 | 72 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Golden Knights | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 95 | |
| Oilers | 82 | 41 | 30 | 11 | 93 | |
| Ducks | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 92 | |
| Kings | 82 | 35 | 27 | 20 | 90 | |
| Sharks | 82 | 39 | 35 | 8 | 86 | |
| Kraken | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 79 | |
| Flames | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 77 | |
| Canucks | 82 | 25 | 49 | 8 | 58 | |
COMPLETE STANDINGS | ||||||