McDavid returns for Oilers against Blues

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid had three assists, including setting up Connor Brown's game-winning goal with 21 seconds remaining in the third period, in the Edmonton Oilers' 4-3 win against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.

McDavid had missed eight games since sustaining a lower-body injury in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets on March 20. The forward is tied for sixth in the NHL with 93 points (26 goals, 67 assists) in 64 games.

The Oilers are still without forwards Leon Draisaitl (lower body), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (illness), Trent Frederic (ankle), defensemen Mattias Ekholm (undisclosed) and John Klingberg (lower body), and goalie Stuart Skinner (head).

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said he expects Draisaitl to return as well before the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"We expect to get everybody (in) before the end of the season," Knoblauch said. "It depends on when exactly, whether that's in a couple of games or the last two games of the season. Those guys are day to day to maybe a week away, and that's where the timeline is for them."

Forward Evander Kane (sports hernia, knee) is on injured reserve and will not return before the playoffs.

Draisaitl is sitting out his third straight after sustaining his injury in a 3-2 win at the San Jose Sharks on April 3. He also missed four games from March 20-27 with an undisclosed injury before returning for three games.

Draisaitl leads the NHL with 52 goals and is third with 106 points (54 assists) in 71 games.

Ekholm has not played since a 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars on March 26 and is missing his seventh consecutive game. He also missed six from March 6-16 before returning to play four games.

Klingberg is missing his sixth straight game since a 6-1 loss at the Seattle Kraken on March 27. Prior to that, he missed the previous 10 games.

Skinner, who is missing his seventh straight game, was injured March 26 when Stars forward Mikko Rantanen made contact with his head rounding the crease in pursuit of a puck behind the net.

"Everybody's got to step up for sure," Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard said. "The last game losing in Anaheim (3-2 on Monday), we did a lot of good things, but we just couldn't put the puck in the net. We have a short-handed lineup, we have a lot of guys out and can't replace them and everybody is going to have to step up and do our thing."

Nugent-Hopkins is out for just the second game this season. He is expected to return when Edmonton hosts San Jose on Friday.

"He is sick," Knoblauch said. "It's very short-term, yes."

Frederic is still recovering from a high-ankle sprain sustained when he was with Boston Bruins. He was acquired in a trade on March 6 and made his debut with Edmonton in a 3-0 loss at the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, where he reaggravated the injury. He was being reevaluated Wednesday, Knoblauch said.

"I think we're managing as best we can, obviously we don't have the same offensive flair," Oilers forward Zach Hyman said. "But you can only control what you can control. We're out there working hard, giving ourselves a chance in every game. Our goalies have been good and we're doing our best. We're not just missing one, but a number of players that are key parts of our game."

The Oilers (45-28-5) are third in the Pacific and are likely to face Los Angeles (44-24-9) in the first round for the fourth consecutive season; they are two points behind the Kings for second in the division and eight behind the first-place Vegas Golden Knights. Securing a playoff spot could factor into how quickly some of their injured players return to the lineup.

"Right now, the most important thing is clinching, getting one or two more wins, then finding out what our lines are going to be like, who is going to be playing together and finding our system or structure, how we're going to play heading into the playoffs," Knoblauch said. "There's a good likelihood that we're playing LA in the first round and for our team, we want to get an idea of that our team is going to look like, how we're going to play.

"We have so many guys that have not been playing the last few weeks; Draisaitl, McDavid, Ekholm, Frederic, so we have a lot of things to consider before we get to that really important time in the playoffs."