The Edmonton Oilers announced that defensemen Oscar Klefbom is expected to miss multiple weeks with a hand injury that he suffered in Tuesday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche.
Coach Hitchcock says #Oilers d-man Oscar Klefbom will be out "weeks not days" with a hand injury & will head back to Edmonton immediately for further evaluation.
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 12, 2018
Oscar Klefbom Injured
Klefbom was injured in the third period in Edmonton’s six-four win on Tuesday Night. However, Klefbom originally returned to the ice but then left again and was ruled out for the game. According to Coach Ken Hitchcock, it sounds like Klefbom will be out long-term. Klefbom was sent back to Edmonton to be re-evaluated.
So far this season, Klefbom has scored three goals and 12 assists for 15 points to go along with eight minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 51.9 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of 2.7 percent.
Over his six-year NHL career, Klefbom has played for the Edmonton Oilers. He has 27 goals and 82 assists for 109 career points in 285 career games. He was originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers, 19th overall in the 2011 NHL draft.
What This Means for the Future
This is a huge loss for an Oilers team who has been on a roll since Ken Hitchcock took over the coaching duties. Klefbom is the team’s number one defensemen. He has a powerful shot from the point. Klefbom has a knack for getting in the way of opponents shots as he’s third on the team with 53 blocks this season. Darnell Nurse will be the likely candidate to join Adam Larsson on the top line while Klefbom is out. Veteran Dman Andrej Sekera is also expected to miss another 20 games as he recovers from a torn ACL. So far this season, Sekera has missed every game. It will be interesting to see if the Oilers can continue their hot streak even with one of their top defensemen injured.
The Oilers currently sit fourth in the Pacific division with 36 points. This has them in the first wild-card spot, however, they are also just one point out of the second Pacific division spot.
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