What Happened
Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will sit out Tuesday's season opener against the Vancouver Canucks because of a lower-body injury believed to have been suffered at practice Monday. Nugent-Hopkins had spent training camp centring the Oilers' second line. Head coach Mike Babcock said the absence will likely force him to change his top six, with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl expected to centre separate lines after playing together on the top unit throughout camp.
Key Details
- Nugent-Hopkins is out for Tuesday's opener against Vancouver with a lower-body injury.
- The injury is believed to have been suffered at practice Monday.
- He had been centring Edmonton's second line during training camp.
- McDavid and Draisaitl are expected to centre separate lines after staying together all camp.
- Babcock said he treats day-to-day timelines as roughly two weeks.
- Babcock is missing five regulars for his first regular season as Oilers coach.
What It Means
Nugent-Hopkins gives Edmonton a centre option behind McDavid and Draisaitl, so his absence removes a layer of depth and pushes the top six into new combinations. Babcock's first regular-season game behind the Oilers bench comes with five regulars unavailable, which limits how much the lineup can be stabilized in the short term.
What's Next
Edmonton opens the season Tuesday against Vancouver with a reshuffled top six. Nugent-Hopkins' status is day-to-day, and Babcock said he treats that designation as roughly two weeks. Jason Dickenson has not been able to push it yet, and Matt Savoie was about eight weeks away at the start of the week.