An Edmonton Oilers game with both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl absent is a rare occurrence. So rare that it hadn’t happened ever since McDavid joined the Oilers in the 2015-16 season. Yes. Not once until injuries sidelined both of them from the game against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.

On Thursday, a cross-check to the midsection by Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey late into the second period of the Oilers’ 4-3 loss ruled McDavid out of the third and overtime. Meanwhile, Draisaitl managed over 22 minutes of ice time against Utah on Tuesday despite having sustained a lower-body injury thanks to a collision with defenceman Olli Määttä. The injury, however, became a concern for the staff the following day, prompting them to rule him out of Thursday’s game and more. And now, going by what head coach Kris Knoblauch had to say about the status of the two, it seems like they’ll be out longer than expected.

The Oilers head coach dropped the bad news after the practice session on March 24. When asked about updates on McDavid’s and Draisaitl’s situation, Knoblauch couldn’t give much hope. “Connor, not. Leon’s still, he’s not day to day yet, so they’re going to be still a while,” said Knoblauch. “So we will be playing a couple games without them at least,” he added.

The coach, however, didn’t stop there. He went looking for a silver lining—as head coaches so often do in these situations. “So it’s good for those other guys that they know that they’re going to get some more playing time,” he said. For the longest time, the Oilers have been labeled as a two-man team. And like it or not, that claim is not without its merits. This season alone, Draisaitl has recorded 101 points while McDavid has 90 to his name. The person closest to even McDavid’s tally is Evan Bouchard with 55 points.

And honestly, it’s not just about the heaps of points that they manage to score. The consistency with which they score them is also something that others in the Oilers camp have found difficult to maintain. Draisaitl, who also leads the NHL in goals, had a massive 18-game point streak going on for himself until the game against the Utah Hockey Club. Meanwhile, McDavid’s assist to Jeff Skinner in the game against the Jets saw him take his own point streak to 13 games. No wonder putting McDavid and Draisaitl at the top of the line when push comes to shove has seemed like a rule set in stone for the Oilers.

Naturally, this raises the question if Knoblauch is misguided in his optimism, even though the Oilers showed promise in their win over Seattle. After all, as Edmonton Journal’s Robert Tchykowski pointed out, “One game against a non-playoff team isn’t a big enough sample size to prove anything.” A much more credible litmus test will be Wednesday’s game against the Dallas Stars, who are sitting pretty at second place in the Central Division.

But then again, you can’t really blame a side for being confident. And you certainly cannot blame Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for resonating with the coach when he said, “We obviously believe in ourselves and our group no matter who’s in or out of the lineup.” After all, he seems to have rediscovered himself.

Nugent-Hopkins’ rise amid Connor McDavid and Draisaitl’s absence

It has been two years since the Oilers’ longest-serving active player had his 100-point season. While he isn’t going to reach that mark this season either, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins seems to have decided to take matters into his own hands in the absence of Connor McDavid and Draisaitl. He led the charge against the Kraken with his 4th career hat-trick which included a shorthanded goal. With nine points in the last four games, Hopkins seems to have found his mojo since moving to the center from the wings.

“I think he can play both, and right now, he’s playing his best hockey playing centre,” Knoblauch said.

Playing in the center has allowed Hopkins to be on the puck more, and make more plays down the middle, with Viktor Arvidsson and Vasily Podkozlin on the wings benefitting from his experience. But then again, Hopkins’ usual role on the team involves far more than that. According to the coach, “He’s primarily been a first-line left winger, first power-play unit, and the first penalty killer over the boards.”

McDavid and Draisaitl may enjoy the lion’s share of the limelight, but the HC thinks that Hopkins is someone whom the team relies on quite a bit, no matter the situation. No wonder, Draisaitl once joked that number 93 was the coach’s favorite. Favorite or not, he is definitely a leader on the ice. And even when the star duo returns, he will have to be at his best if the Oilers are to make a deep playoff run.