Oilers’ Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to make season debut against Hurricanes
The Edmonton Oilers are one of the hottest teams in the NHL, and they’re set to get a crucial player back into their lineup ahead of one of their biggest tests of the young season.
Following the Oilers’ 4-3 overtime victory over the Minnesota Wild in a showdown between two of the Western Conference’s top teams, head coach Mike Babcock announced that veteran forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will make his season debut when Edmonton welcomes the reigning Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes to Rogers Place on Thursday night.
Nugent-Hopkins has missed the entirety of the young season to this point with a lower-body injury that he sustained during a team practice in the midst of the preseason in September. In his absence, the Oilers have been missing valuable forward depth and experience, but it has not hindered their ability to win games.
At 7-1-1, Edmonton owns the best record in the NHL by points percentage, as Connor McDavid’s historically hot start to the season has fueled win after win. McDavid has notched 26 points in 9 games as he, Evan Bouchard (18 points), Leon Draisaitl (16) and Vasily Podkolzin (12) have done far more than their fair share to carry the Oilers’ offense. Aside from those four, no Oiler has more than five points through nine games.
With Nugent-Hopkins back in the lineup, help is on the way. The No. 1 overall pick from the 2011 NHL Draft appeared in 72 regular season games last year, notching 56 points on 20 goals and 36 assists. The British Columbia native is up to 804 career points in 1,031 contests.
Nugent-Hopkins is not the only reinforcement Edmonton has gotten back from injury lately, as winger Zach Hyman returned to the lineup after a six-game absence for the past two games.
Thursday night’s showdown between the top two teams in the NHL by points percentage will mark a big early season test for the Oilers in their first year under Babcock, as Edmonton will have a chance to pick up a third straight win against last year’s Cup champion.
