As long as the Edmonton Oilers make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, their general manager is confident they'll have Leon Draisaitl back in the lineup.
Per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, Stan Bowman said Wednesday that if everything goes as scheduled, Draisaitl will be back at the end of the regular season as the German superstar does not need surgery for his injury.
On Tuesday, the team announced that Draisaitl was expected to miss the rest of the regular season with a lower-body injury.
Draisaitl was hurt on a hit from Nashville Predators forward Ozzy Wiesblatt during the first period of Edmonton's 3-1 win on Sunday.
He went to the locker room, returned for one shift before the end of the period, but was not on the bench to start the second. Draisaitl did not practise with his teammates on Monday.
The 30-year-old German centre has 35 goals and 62 assists over 65 games for the Oilers this season.
Picked third overall by Edmonton in the 2014 draft, Draisaitl has been a key part of the team that played in back-to-back Stanley Cup finals the last two seasons.
He had 110 points in the 2019-20 season, the most across the NHL, a performance that earned him both the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP and the Ted Lindsay Award, handed out annually to the player voted most outstanding by other members of the NHL players' association.
In their first game without Draisaitl in the lineup, the Oilers defeated the San Jose Sharks 5-3 on Tuesday. The win moved the Oilers into a tie for first in the Pacific Division with the Anaheim Ducks.
— With files from the Canadian Press
