Oilers star Connor McDavid will be in the lineup Wednesday against the Golden Knights just nine days after he suffered an ankle injury, the team informed reporters, including Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
McDavid suffered the injury just 37 seconds into his first shift against the Blue Jackets on Oct. 28. He fell awkwardly into the boards on his left leg while attempting to cut around Columbus defenseman Ivan Provorov.
The Oilers initially said McDavid would miss two to three weeks with the injury. The earliest that timeline would have allowed him to return was next Tuesday against the Islanders. Instead, he’s back in the lineup five days and two games ahead of schedule.
An early return isn’t entirely unexpected after McDavid returned to practice earlier this week and declared himself day-to-day. Speaking with reporters on Monday, he implied he was targeting Saturday against the Canucks as a return date. However, a quick turnaround time means he’s back in to face a key divisional rival in Vegas.
Before the injury, McDavid was off to a slow start by his standards. The five-time Art Ross Trophy winner had three goals and seven assists for 10 points in 10 games, on pace for the worst point-per-game rate of his 10-year NHL career.
He’s still got plenty of time to turn things around, though, and a three-game absence won’t take a bite out of his end-of-season totals too much. He missed six contests last season with various injuries and still managed to tie for the league lead with 100 assists.
McDavid, 27, will center Zach Hyman and Jeff Skinner in his return Wednesday night, per team TV host Tony Brar. It’s a bit of a new look. He’d spent nearly all of his time with Hyman before the injury but had alternated between Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on his other wing.
The Oilers will take the help and the return of their captain as they begin to hit their stride. After dropping their first three games, the defending Western Conference champions are 6-3-1 in their past 10 and are one point back of the Blues for the second wild-card spot.
McDavid never landed on injured reserve, so no transactions are required for him to return to play.