It's been a disappointing season thus far the Edmonton Oilers, and one largely played without a full complement of healthy players.
That could change Friday.
Though they've gone through different portions of the season missing different key players, the Oilers could have their full cast of characters come Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks, when defenseman Oscar Klefbom is expected to make his return.
Klefbom has missed the past two games, and will be out his third on Wednesday with an upper-body injury that the 24-year-old defenseman had been playing through.
His last game came against the San Jose Sharks in a 5-3 Edmonton win Dec. 18, in which Klefbom logged 19:41. That came a game after fellow defenseman Adam Larsson returned from an eight-game absence, and a game prior to Andrej Sekera making his season debut; Sekera tore his ACL during Game 5 of the Oilers second-round playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks in May.
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If Klefbom plays Friday, it would be the first game of the season that the Oilers have all of their defensemen healthy.
"He's feeling much better; the time off has helped him" said head coach Todd McLellan. "The Christmas break has hurt him because we haven't been able to practice. We haven't been on the ice for seven days, and had he had a chance to skate and get involved with the team, there's a good chance he would have been playing tonight. So I guess with that being said we expect him to be back (Friday)."
Coach McLellan discusses challenges of returning to action after holidays, @Klefbom93's status & more ahead of tonight's matchup between the #Oilers & Jets. pic.twitter.com/Lk5E3X9kT9
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 27, 2017
Edmonton avoided a major injury just prior to the Christmas break, when Connor McDavid blocked a Jeff Petry shot at the tail end of a 4-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens. Though McDavid limped to the locker room, x-rays taken of his foot were negative, and McDavid will play Wednesday night against the Winnipeg Jets.
This comes in the midst of Edmonton attempting to climb back into the playoff picture. The Oilers enter play Wednesday four points behind the Ducks for the second wild card spot, with a game in hand on Anaheim, though four teams sit in the standings between the Oilers and Ducks (Edmonton also has a game in hand on Anaheim). Edmonton also trails San Jose by six points for third in the Pacific Division, while San Jose has played two fewer games.
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But things have been going better lately for the Oilers, winners of four straight and nine of their past 13. Cam Talbot, who will start on Wednesday against the Jets, has won each of his past seven starts, a stretch that has been sandwich around Talbot missing close to three weeks with an undisclosed injury. Since returning to the Oilers crease Dec. 16, Talbot is 4-0-0 with a .932 save-percentage, accounting for the current winning streak.