Leon Draisaitl will test ankle in warmups, expects to play Game 7 for Oilers
It looks like Leon Draisaitl will suit up for the Edmonton Oilers in their deciding game against the Los Angeles Kings.
Draisaitl didn’t take the ice at Oilers practice ahead of Game 7 on Saturday which led to speculation that he might not play. Head coach Jay Woodcroft remained quiet on the topic, refusing to give an update on Draisaitl’s status at his media availability after practice.
But, according to Frank Seravalli, Draisaitl will
Current expectation is Leon Draisaitl will be in #LetsGoOilers lineup tonight for Game 7.
We hear “game-time decision” often this time of year, but this is the truest sense of one.
Plan is Draisaitl to test what I’m told is a high-ankle sprain in warmups and expects to play.
While there’s no official diagnosis from the Oilers, it’s pretty clear that Draisaitl has been dealing with an ankle injury during Edmonton’s first-round series with Los Angeles. Draisaitl was scratched from one of Edmonton’s last games of the regular season, a win over the San Jose Sharks, with what was listed as a lower-body injury.
The injury was worsened in Game 6 when Draisaitl was taken down by Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson while both players were involved in a scrum.
This looked like the play that could have caused Draisaitl’s discomfort. The takedown from Anderson looked like it wrenched Draisaitl’s knee. pic.twitter.com/NEww4kXyhe
— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) May 13, 2022Draisaitl went into the tunnel and returned to the game but was noticeably favoring his right leg. At times it appears Draisaitl was having a hard time standing and taking full strides.
Even though he isn’t at 100 percent, the Oilers could certainly still benefit from having Draisaitl in the lineup, especially with his lethal one-time shot on the power-play. Draisaitl has five goals and eight points for the Oilers through six games in the playoffs.