Oilers’ Tyler Pitlick done for season with torn ACL

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Edmonton Oilers forward Tyler Pitlick is done for the season due to a torn ACL in his left knee, the team announced Friday.

Pitlick was injured during Monday’s game against the St. Louis Blues when he got tangled up with Jori Lehtera late in the second period. He had scored the Oilers’ first goal of the game in the first period.

The news comes on the heels of the 25-year-old winger finally hitting his NHL stride after struggling to stick with the big club the past two seasons.

“I really felt for him,” Oilers head coach Todd McLellan told the Edmonton Sun Tuesday, before the full extent of Pitlick’s injury had been determined.

“He was emotional. He had such a positive impact on our team,” McLellan said, later adding that the winger had “established himself as a full-time player.”

“He’s just finding his way into the league now permanently. To have that happen is tough for the young man.”

Pitlick has played 31 games with the Oilers this year — more than his previous two campaigns combined — and has registered eight goals and three assists while hovering around 10 minutes of ice time per game as a depth forward.

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