COLUMBUS, Ohio — Connor McDavid left the Edmonton Oilers‘ 6-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night after getting injured on the first shift.
McDavid was chasing the puck past the Blue Jackets blue line when he tripped over Zach Werenski‘s extended stick and slid into the boards skates first.
Bracing himself with his left arm, McDavid landed awkwardly and headed to bench as soon as he got up, 37 seconds in. The Oilers said he would not return with what they called a lower-body injury.
After the loss, Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters that McDavid will leave the road trip, and return to Edmonton for further testing on his lower body injury.
The undisputed best player in hockey is coming off leading Edmonton to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final and earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP despite losing to the Florida Panthers.
McDavid, who had 10 points in the team’s first nine games this season, was missed. Mikael Pyyhtia scored his first NHL goal, Sean Monahan added two goals of his own, and Cole Sillinger had three points in the victory. Elvis Merzlikins carried a shutout through 19:33 of the third period before giving up a late goal, but he stopped 31 shots as the Blue Jackets continued their trend of winning every other game on the season.
Mattias Ekholm scored and Stuart Skinner stopped 19 shots for the Oilers, who saw a two-game win streak end.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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