Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid to sit out against Canucks

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid will sit Saturday night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks due to injury.

It is the third straight game McDavid will miss due to the lower-body injury suffered late in a game last weekend against the Calgary Flames.

“Connor will not be playing tonight, he’s still day to day,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said following the morning skate, which McDavid participated in. “He’s feeling better but just with the advice from the doctors and T.D. (Forss, Oilers head athletic therapist) that it’s best to wait it out.”

Without McDavid in the lineup, the Oilers defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 5-1 at Rogers Place on Wednesday, and followed up with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Friday, with the single point clinching Edmonton home-ice advantage in the opening round of playoffs.

The Oilers (48-24-6) sit three points back of the Canucks (48-22-9) for first place in the Pacific Division with one game in hand, and have not won their division since 1987.

“The doctors have a lot more experience in injuries than I do,” Knoblauch said. “Connor knows his body, but I think the biggest thing is the doctors telling us and giving us advice on if we push it, the likelihood of it being OK and not being an issue is getting worse.

“Obviously, we do not want to risk the chances of it getting worse. So, we’re taking our time. The division title would be great and winning as many games as we can and possibly getting home ice for a longer period of time, but that’s not the most important thing.”

Prior to Saturday’s games, McDavid sat third overall in scoring with 130 points (31 goals, 99 assists) in 74 games, behind the Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon, who had 137 points (51 goals, 86 assists) in 79 games, and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, who led the league with 141 point (42 goals, 98 assists) in 78 games.

McDavid is expected to return to the lineup in time for playoffs, if not earlier, as the Oilers wrap up the final three games of their regular-season schedule next week.

“Right now, we’re just day to day,” Knoblauch said. “He’s been getting better and better every day. I guess we were more optimistic that it would be a quicker turnaround, but it takes time and we’re just being cautious.

“It’s day to day and I think it would be different if it was playoffs, but we just want to make sure everyone, not only Connor, but the entire team is healthy and ready to go and we’re doing the best for every person on the team.”