EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid will be a game-time decision Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks in the teams' Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.
McDavid, who led the NHL in points this season, did not participate in the team's morning skate ahead of a must-win game for Edmonton.
The Oilers are trying to avoid elimination and rally from a 3-1 deficit in the best-of-seven series. Edmonton reached the Stanley
Cup final in each of the last two seasons before losing to the two-time champion Florida Panthers.
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch also said the status of forward/center Jason Dickinson would be decided before the game and that Connor Ingram would start in net.
The 29-year-old McDavid has looked uncomfortable at times since rolling his ankle in the second period of Game 2 when he collided with teammate Mattias Ekholm.
McDavid, who led the league with 138 points, scored his first goal in Game 3 and had his first multi-point games in the third and fourth games of the series in Anaheim. McDavid didn’t participate in Saturday’s off-day skate in Anaheim.
McDavid was nominated Tuesday for the Ted Lindsay Award, along with San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov. The award is for the league’s “most outstanding player” as voted by NHL players. McDavid is a four-time winner.
Ingram returns to the Edmonton net on Tuesday after Tristan Jarry made 34 saves in a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 4. Ingram started the first three games of the series. He earned a 4-3 victory in Game 1 before allowing 11 goals in consecutive losses behind a leaky Edmonton defense.
“Nothing against Jarry,” Knoblauch said. “I thought he had a solid game the other night, but going down this last few weeks or months, Ingram’s been our starter. He’s been our guy. Now that our season’s on the line, we felt that we would go with our guy.”
Dickinson sat out the second and third games of the series due to injury. He scored twice in Edmonton’s win in the opener and assisted on the Oilers’ first goal in the Game 4 loss.
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