Superstar captain Connor McDavid will sit out his third straight game Saturday when his Edmonton Oilers host the Vancouver Canucks.
McDavid sustained a lower-body injury during the final five minutes of the Oilers 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames on April 6. He missed the 5-1 victory versus the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday and a 3-2 overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Friday.
Edmonton (48-24-6, 102 points) trails Vancouver (48-22-9, 105 points) by three points entering the showdown but still has one game in hand on the Canucks.
“I never want to miss games. I really don’t,” McDavid said Friday. “It’s frustrating, but at the end of the day we’re after bigger things here and everyone being healthy is priority No. 1.”
McDavid, 27, has recorded 31 goals to go along with career-best 99 assists in 74 games this season.
A three-time (and reigning) Hart Trophy winner, McDavid has totaled 980 points (334 goals, 646 assists) in 643 career games since being selected by the Oilers with the top overall pick of the 2015 NHL Draft.