The Edmonton Oilers may be in for some tough stretches in the coming weeks after lead star Connor McDavid walked off their recent loss with a lower-body injury. Seeing their worst start in a season in years, the Edmonton Oilers may have just found themselves in a tough position with Connor McDavid now out with a lower-body injury. At the same time, the Oilers went on to drop that same game where McDavid ended up injured with a 6-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Nationwide Arena.

It does seem hard for the Oilers to lose a key star in McDavid, who was a spectacular performer in the Stanley Cup Final last season. They nearly pulled off an 0-3 comeback against the Florida Panthers and dropped the series in seven games. It does seem that McDavid’s absence will also see some drop in their chances of winning in the next set of games.

For now, Oilers fans can hope for the best and expect to see some major adjustments for the squad. With the way they are playing right now, Edmonton does not need an absent time from its captain and lead star player now more than ever, and they can only pray that McDavid will not miss too many games and return to his competitive form right away.

The Injury Play

McDavid went on to be an aggressive star to begin the game after winning the face-off. However, in just 37 seconds of action, the Oilers star was out of commission for the game after he got tripped up by Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski while McDavid was trying to cut his way into the offensive zone.

That incident would see McDavid sent into the right boards, although landing awkwardly and badly as the play stopped early. The Blue Jackets defenseman claimed that there was nothing intentional there and said that he was just reaching for the puck when he might have nicked McDavid in the play.

McDavid would not return for the whole game after that, and the Oilers would not come up with more than one goal in the game as the Blue Jackets controlled the game and dropped six goals of their own as they cruised past Edmonton. That was a statement – and proof that the Oilers actually need more boost for their offensive woes.

Not a Great Start

At this point, it can be said that the Oilers are fading away, faster than a bullet fired from afar. Edmonton has lost three of their last five games, and it cannot be denied that the team is really struggling to make it work this season. Whatever magic they had in the previous season, it is long gone – and it is certainly not working well with McDavid not present and out with an injury.

As it stands, the team now has a 4-5-1 record, 13th in the West. That is not a good sign for the team at this point, and with McDavid set to be re-evaluated in the coming weekend, it does seem that their chances are getting trimmed now more than ever. The Oilers did not provide a timeline in his status, leaving the severity of his injury on an uncertain note.

“It's tough, anytime you are playing without your best player, but it’s something that’s hopefully short term," Knoblauch said. "Obviously, our team is going to look different. Maybe that's one, two games."

Still, one can say that the Oilers are still far from the “panic mode” that the critics expect them to be right now. But with McDavid injured, the odds for the Oilers to win in their game this Sunday against the Calgary Flames and the home game against the New Jersey Devils are quite on the fence moving forward, and that says a lot about the impact of missing their captain.