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Edmonton Oilers Kris Russell Lands On IR

The Edmonton Oilers announced that defencemen Kris Russell has been placed on IR with an undisclosed injury. There is no timetable for his return.

Kris Russell Injured

It is unclear how Russell suffered the injury but it appears to be some-what serious as the Oilers decided to place him on IR.

So far this season, Russell has scored one goal and seven assists for eight points to go along with four minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 46.9 % Corsi and a relative Corsi of -4.6 %.

Over his 12-year NHL career, the journeyman defensemen played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers. He has 44 goals and 175 assists for 219 career points in 750 career games. He was originally drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third round, 67th overall in the 2005 NHL draft.

What This Means for the Future

Russell joins Oscar Klefbom and Andrej Sekera on the IR list for the Oilers. In the meantime Jason Garrison will be slotted into the lineup to play on the third pairing. Russell has been a huge part of the Oilers blue-line blocking at least 200 shots over the past two seasons. If the injury to Russell ends up keeping him out long-term expect the Oilers to start searching the market for a D-Man. Since Hitchcock took over the Oilers have been playing better hockey. They have won seven of their last nine games and sit in fifth place in the Pacific Division.

In a corresponding move, the Oilers have activated forward Tobias Rieder off of IR. Reider last played on November 13th vs Montreal. He has seven assists in 18 games this season to go along with two penalty minutes.

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Armand Klisivitch

Armand Klisivitch

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