Oilers’ Connor McDavid Made Game-Time Decision For Game 5
According to TSN’s Chris Johnston, Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid has been made a game-time decision for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Additional reports indicate McDavid has been dealing with an undisclosed injury, but has not missed a game in the postseason up to this point. McDavid currently sits tied for third on the Oilers in points this postseason with one goal and four points through four games, with a minus-six rating.
After taking Game 1 in the series, Edmonton has lost three straight, being outscored 17-11, including a Game 4 overtime loss to Anaheim by a final score of 4-3. McDavid has received his fair share of scrutiny for his lack of game-changing offense in the series, going scoreless in the first two contests. The Ducks have done well at limiting the Oilers’ superstar thus far.
McDavid, the Oilers’ 2015 first overall pick, racked up 48 goals and 138 points in 82 games during the 2025-26 regular season and would be a massive hole in the lineup for the Oilers to fill. To date, he has produced 45 goals and 154 points in 100 career playoff games. The Oilers will look to continue their playoff series against the Ducks tonight, currently down three games to one in a best-of-seven series.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman also stated that forward Jason Dickinson is a game-time decision for Game 5 of the series. Dickinson has missed the last two games due to a lower-body injury. The trade deadline acquisition registered two goals in Game 1.
Connor McDavid Named Finalist For Ted Lindsay Award
The NHL kicked off award season today, announcing that Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks, Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers have been named finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award.
John Garrett Passes Away At 74
In an unfortunate announcement, Sportsnet shared that John Garrett, 74, has passed away. Garrett enjoyed a six-year career in the NHL as a netminder, though most will know him as a color commentator with Sportsnet Pacific.
His professional career began in 1971, when he was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the NHL Draft. Instead of making his way through the Blues’ affiliates to NHL playing time, Garrett signed with the WHA’s Minnesota Fighting Saints ahead of the 1973-74 season. He spent two and a half years with Minnesota, managing a 77-63-6 record in 150 games with a 3.38 GAA. Unfortunately, the franchise folded toward the end of the 1975-76 season, and Garrett finished the season with the Toronto Toros.
The Toros didn’t stay much longer. Garrett remained with the organization even after they relocated to Birmingham despite the team having several difficult seasons. In an act of mercy, Birmingham traded Garrett to the New England Whalers and remained with the team through the 1979 WHA/NHL merger.
Finally, in the NHL, nearly a decade after being drafted by the Blues, Garrett hopped around a few times, playing for the Whalers, Quebec City Nordiques, and Vancouver Canucks. Throughout his six-year NHL career, Garrett earned a 68-91-37 record in 207 games with a .866 SV% and 4.28 GAA. Although he didn’t receive credit for years, largely because the NHL didn’t track netminder assists for many decades, Garrett was given an assist to Gordie Howe‘s last goal in his illustrious career.
Garrett retired after the 1984-85 season and was immediately offered the role of Assistant General Manager with the Canucks. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen management changes, the offer was withdrawn relatively quickly. Needing to pivot, Garrett began his broadcasting career with CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada.
During that time, he covered many games for the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames before joining Sportsnet in 1998. Beginning in the 2002-03 season, Garrett became the lead commentator for the Canucks organization, a role he held until his retirement in 2023.
We at PHR offer our condolences to the teammates, colleagues, organizations, and fans who have grown close to Garrett throughout his playing and broadcasting career.
Oilers Starting Tristan Jarry In Game 4
There’s more chaos coming from one of the most chaotic series from Round One of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs. According to a report from Sportsnet, the Edmonton Oilers are switching to Tristan Jarry for a pivotal Game 4 against the Anaheim Ducks.
Edmonton’s problems in the crease have become like a broken record for many following the NHL, and there’s been no shortage of drama in the opening round of the postseason. Although the Oilers have been scoring at a relatively high pace (as expected), netminder Connor Ingram has completely bottomed out, stopping only 79 of 93 shots (.849 SV%) while letting in 4.70 goals a game on average.
The Oilers are more than used to this reality by now. Edmonton hasn’t had competent goaltending for a few years now. Stuart Skinner showed flashes of brilliance during the 2023-24 season and helped the franchise reach its first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 2006. Despite a down regular season, the Oilers again reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2025, this time despite Skinner, who posted a .889 SV% in 15 postseason contests.
Back in December, when Edmonton acquired Jarry from the Pittsburgh Penguins, they thought he would be the answer. In their defense, Jarry was backstopping a resurgent Penguins organization, managing a 9-3-1 record in 13 starts with a .909 SV% and 2.66 GAA.
Then, like many other netminders, everything came apart in Alberta.
Including a stint on the injured reserve, Jarry was disastrous down the stretch with the Oilers, posting a 9-6-2 record in 16 games with a .857 SV%, 3.86 GAA, and an eye-popping -16.6 Goals Saved Above Average. That production, or lack thereof, forced Edmonton’s hand into running with Ingram for the last bit of the regular season and the first three games of the postseason.
Although the Oilers aren’t on the brink of elimination, this already feels like the last attempt to right the ship. If the Ducks get to Jarry, it’s hard to envision Edmonton having any confidence in going back to Ingram with how things have gone so far.
Jason Dickinson Made Game-Time Decision
- The Anaheim Ducks will remain without their captain tonight in Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers. According to Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, Radko Gudas is still dealing with his undisclosed injury and has been ruled out for tonight’s contest. Anaheim will certainly miss having his physicality in the lineup as they look to shut down Connor McDavid in a third consecutive game. Gudas skated in 9:40 of action in Game 1, earning a -1 rating while putting one shot on goal and delivering two hits.
- On the other side of tonight’s matchup, the Oilers are dealing with their own injury concerns. Team reporter Tony Brar shared that Jason Dickinson has been elevated to a game-time decision due to his undisclosed injury. Having missed Game 2 already, the trade deadline acquisition was one of, if not, the Oilers’ best forward in Game 1. Dickinson scored two goals in that contest in 12 minutes of ice time.
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Latest On Jason Dickinson
Edmonton Oilers center Jason Dickinson is questionable for game two tonight against the Anaheim Ducks as the result of an undisclosed injury, reports Jason Gregor of Sports 1440. Per Gregor, veteran Curtis Lazar will enter head coach Kris Knoblauch’s lineup if Dickinson can’t dress. Dickinson has had some trouble staying healthy in recent weeks, as he missed the final three games of Edmonton’s regular season schedule with a lower-body injury. That didn’t stop him from making a major impact in game one, as he scored two goals in Edmonton’s 4-3 victory over the Ducks.
The 30-year-old veteran was acquired by the Oilers at the trade deadline from the Chicago Blackhawks, and is a well-respected bottom-six center thanks to his defensive ability. Lazar, 31, is also a bottom-six defensive center, though he is not held in quite as high a regard as the player he may replace in the lineup. Lazar got into 45 games for Edmonton this season, averaging 8:55 time on ice per game, including 0:33 per game on the penalty kill. Dickinson has been Edmonton’s top penalty-killing forward since he was acquired, averaging a team-high 1:51 time on ice per game while short handed.
Oilers’ Adam Henrique Out Day-To-Day
The Edmonton Oilers were able to add star forward Leon Draisaitl back to the lineup before Monday night’s Game 1 against the Anaheim Ducks. Unfortunately, they did not leave the matchup unscathed, with depth forward Adam Henrique sustaining an undisclosed injury late in the first period. The injury came on a collision with Oilers teammate Kasperi Kapanen. Henrique sat out of the final two periods and will now be unavailable for Game 2, head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters including Chris Johnston of The Athletic.
Henrique was filling Edmonton’s fourth-line center role before going down with injury. He also served on the team’s top penalty-killing unit alongside Jason Dickinson. It could be Dickinson picking up the slack at even-strength in Henrique’s absence. The Trade Deadline acquisition fills the third-line center role and scored two goals – the opener and the tying goal – in Monday night’s win. Dickinson also took the third-most faceoffs of any Oilers center, behind Connor McDavid and Draisaitl. He won four of his 10 draws, or 40 percent – a dip from the 48.7 faceoff percentage he recorded in 17 regular season games with Edmonton.
While Dickinson prepares for a bit more trust in Game 2, it will be Josh Samanski stepping into the lineup to fill Henrique’s spot. Samanski made his NHL debut in late January. He went on to tally four points, six penalty minutes, and a plus-two in 24 games – while adding 31 points and 40 penalty minutes in 45 AHL games. Samanski stood out as a do-it-all, utility forward in his small NHL sample – but his lack of scoring could become glaring in must-win games. That is where Dickinson’s hot streak in the bottom-six could buoy the offense, while allowing Samanski to play the hard minutes while stars rest up.
Henrique has racked up 15 points, 18 penalty minutes, and a minus-12 through 65 games this season. On the tail-end of his career, the 1,000-game veteran has fallen into a depth role for the Oilers. He does still offer upside in faceoffs and on special teams, though. Henrique posted a 54.0 faceoff percentage and 104 minutes of penalty-killing time this season, both ranked third among the Oilers forwards. He will be a defense-oriented addition to the Oilers’ playoff lineup if he works back to full health before the end of the first round.
Oilers Activate Leon Draisaitl Off LTIR
The Oilers will indeed welcome back one of their top players as their first-round series against Anaheim gets underway tonight. The team announced (Twitter link) that they have activated forward Leon Draisaitl off long-term injured reserve.
The 30-year-old has been sidelined since mid-March due to a lower-body injury. He briefly flew to Germany to be assessed and at that time, it was noted that the hope was that he’d be back at some point in the first round. He’ll beat that by being ready for the start of the series.
Draisaitl finished just shy of the 100-point mark this season, snapping a streak of four straight years at that threshold. However, he still managed 35 goals and 62 assists in 65 appearances with his 1.49 points per game mark matching what he put up in 2024-25.
Draisaitl has been especially productive in the playoffs in recent years which certainly bodes well for Edmonton. Last year, he led all players in postseason points with 33; he has surpassed the 30-point mark in three of the last four years. That extra firepower will certainly make their lineup that much more dangerous.
With Jason Dickinson expected to be available tonight, this should be the first game all season that the Oilers have had their fully healthy lineup. We’ll soon find out if that’s enough to give them a boost in the opener against the Ducks.
Latest On Leon Draisaitl, Jason Dickinson
Two welcome additions were on the ice today in Edmonton’s practice, as Leon Draisaitl and Jason Dickinson were full participants, noted by TSN’s Ryan Rishaug. It’s not yet certain, but the news suggests the Oilers could be icing a fully stocked lineup tomorrow night in Game 1 of their first round series against Anaheim.
Meanwhile, Dickinson took the middle between Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jack Roslovic on the third line. With just one goal and four points in 17 games since being acquired from Chicago, he will lean fully into a shutdown role to try and help the Oilers make a third-consecutive deep run. The 30-year-old’s possession metrics at five-on-five with his new team aren’t pretty, under 40% corsi for, but he’s starting over 71% of shifts in the defensive zone, which will continue to be his calling card ahead. Dickinson has missed the team’s last three games with a leg injury and hasn’t found the back of the net in his last 13 contests.
With other teams wrapping up their respective second games around the time the puck finally drops to open the Oilers/Ducks series, the scheduling worked to the benefit of Edmonton, giving them the real possibility of returning to full health.
Oilers Sign David Lewandowski To AHL ATO
- The Edmonton Oilers signed prospect forward David Lewandowski has joined the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, on an ATO. The 19-year-old made his North American professional debut last night against the San Jose Barracuda and earned his first AHL point, a secondary assist. The 19-year-old German forward was selected in the fourth round, No. 117 overall, of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler ranked Lewandowski as the No. 5 prospect in Edmonton’s system, calling him a “a reliable, almost veteran player, even though he’s still a teenager.” Lewandowski spent most of 2025-26 with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, where he scored 65 points in 57 regular-season games and nine points in 11 postseason contests.