Leon Draisaitl return resets Oilers for Game 1

Not long ago, Edmonton's plan was simple. Get through the final stretch, protect the roster, and hope Draisaitl would be ready once the playoffs opened.

Now that timeline looks a lot more aggressive.

The latest signs point to Draisaitl pushing into the Game 1 conversation, which changes the entire feel around this club.

That matters because this was never a small absence.

Draisaitl went down with a lower-body issue after the March 15 game against Nashville, and Edmonton had to start patching holes right away.

Before the injury, he had 97 points in 65 games. That's not production a contender can fake with line shuffling and extra effort.

He also had 35 goals, and that number tells the story.

Edmonton lost a finisher, a playmaker, and one of the league's most dangerous power-play threats in the same moment.

The impact goes well past the scoresheet.

Draisaitl changes the middle of the ice, forces defenders to respect both circles, and gives Edmonton another driver when the pace gets heavy.

Knoblauch has been asking for survival hockey.

That meant bigger minutes for players who are better suited lower in the lineup and more movement around the top six than Edmonton wanted.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has had to slide around to cover gaps.

That can hold for a few games, but it is not the cleanest version of the Oilers.

The timing also lines up with another concern.

Zach Hyman is being managed through an issue of his own, and Knoblauch recently placed his timeline in the 5 to 14 day range.

That leaves Edmonton needing one of its elite finishers back at full speed. A healthy Draisaitl would take pressure off Connor McDavid and settle the forward group in one move.

It also sharpens the power play and gives the bench more balance late in games. Edmonton does not need everyone playing above their slot when Draisaitl is in the lineup.

The standings pressure only adds to it. The Oilers entered the weekend tied with Anaheim at 87 points, so every late-season roster swing carries extra weight.

If Draisaitl is truly in play for Game 1, Edmonton stops looking like a team just trying to get healthy. It starts looking like a team the rest of the West did not want to see this early.

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