Edmonton Oilers Suffer Brutal Blow Ahead of Opening Night
· Yahoo Sports
The Edmonton Oilers failed to go deep in the 2025/26 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and after another summer of change, optimism has returned to Alberta as they look to claim the organization’s first Stanley Cup since 1990.
In a wide open Pacific Division, with a good regular season, this team could put themselves in a prime position to make a Cup run, but ahead of their opening night matchup with the Vancouver Canucks, they’ve suffered a tough injury blow.
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Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Ruled Out For Extended Period
Mar 10, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Edmonton Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) celebrates his second goal of the game during the second period against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn ImagesThis off-season, the Oilers made many changes, bringing in the likes of Frederik Andersen, Ryan Shea, Mathieu Joseph and Alex Formenton while moving on from Darnell Nurse and others, putting them in a prime spot for a deep Stanley Cup run. As a result, the forward group looks as good, if not better than it has in recent years, and with their two biggest stars in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the way, it’s easy to see why the fans are confident.
Unfortunately, with the team set to start the 2026/27 on Tuesday up against the division rival Canucks, they’ve announced some bad news, revealing that veteran Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will miss not only this game, but another two weeks of action, according to Mike Babcock.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (LBI) will not be available tonight for the Edmonton Oilers, according to Mike Babcock. RNH suffered the injury during practice, and there’s a possibility he could be sidelined for around two weeks. pic.twitter.com/QS2PH0kGAH
— Daily Faceoff Edmonton (@dfoedmonton) September 29, 2026
Reportedly, Nugent-Hopkins suffered the reported lower-body injury in practice, and while it’s not considered a serious, long-term injury, it’s a blow to a team that wanted to get their 2026/27 season started on the right foot.
What Will the Oilers Opening Night Lineup Be?
Given the Oilers first sense of depth in a long, long time, the lineup could be put together in very different ways, with RNH especially having the versatility to play either down the middle or on the wing, anywhere in Edmonton’s top-nine. Early in the year however, it looks like the team are going to split up 97 and 29, with their top-six reportedly set to look like this: Howard-McDavid-Hyman, Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Kapanen.
With things looking like that, the likes of Formenton, Colton Dach and Joseph will make up the third line, as RNH missing the season opener compounds their center issues after Jason Dickinson was also ruled out.
As the season goes on and the Oilers get healthy, both RNH and Dickinson will return to the lineup, this is a team that will look better and better with their depth, and while opening night just got a little harder, the Oilers will remain confident they can take down a key Pacific Division rival.
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