Connor McDavid returns to Edmonton Oilers following three-game suspension

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The lights might not have gone out at Rogers Place, but the electricity certainly returned to the building Monday.

Connor McDavid returned to the Edmonton Oilers lineup against the Seattle Kraken after serving a three-game suspension for cross-checking Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland in the helmet Jan. 18.

You remember the dying seconds of that 3-2 loss on the west coast, when the Oilers captain was held down every which way from MMA and the refs just watched.

The league came down hard on McDavid for finally taking matters into his own hands, and the generational talent was left watching his teammates play the next three games without him.

On television.

Like the rest of the city.

“Just workout during the first period or so, then just watched,” McDavid said of his game-day-off ritual. “Nothing groundbreaking. I wish I had some crazy answer for you, just sit on the couch and watch like everyone else.

“I thought they played well, two wins, that’s always a good thing.”

Especially when going 2-1 in his absence pushed the team, albeit briefly, into top spot in the Pacific Division for the first time since Dec. 21, 2021, as the Oilers are now in a tug-of-war with the Vegas Golden Knights over the all-important home-ice advantage come playoffs.

But that’s an issue for later. Monday was all about getting back into game form for McDavid.

“Antsy to play, excited to get going,” he told a throng of media gathered around his stall after Monday’s morning skate. “It was a long week, just sitting around practising, I’m ready to get going.”

And while the Oilers were just as keen to have him back on the ice, head coach Kris Knoblauch pointed out his presence alone is no guarantee.

“Any time you get your best player back after a stretch, whether it’s one, 10, 15 games without him, and you insert that player back in the lineup it’s a nice addition, to say the least,” Knoblauch said. “But when you add that player, often what happens is (the other) players take a step back. ‘Oh, we’ve got our player, we don’t have to play as good.’

“Collectively, everyone else takes a step back because you’re getting your best player back. It’s important that everyone plays at that high level and doesn’t just take for granted that we are getting Connor back.”

Leon Draisaitl tears it up in McDavid’s absence

That being said, a quick glance at this Oilers roster suggests the team might not exactly have been missing their best player.

Leon Draisaitl had five points (two goals, three assists) in the three games McDavid was suspended, to go along with three goals and three assists in the three prior games McDavid missed due to injury this season.

That gives Draisaitl five goals and six assists in six games without McDavid, or 1.83 points per game, which is even better than his 1.51 point-per-game clip he’s averaging this season.

Heading into Monday’s reunion playing on the Oilers top line together, Draisaitl lead the league with 35 goals and sat second overall with 74 points — just three shy of the lead (with two games in hand).

“He played great, the whole team played great, I don’t think that’s surprising,” McDavid said. “No one loves to talk about how the team plays when I’m not there, but the team plays well. We’re a good team, no matter who is in the lineup.

“The D are playing well, the goalies are playing well, but I think it’s team defence, the forwards as well. The (penalty kill) being good, it helps. They had a rough start but I think it’s been the best in the league for a while now. But the back end is good, obviously led by (Mattias Ekholm) and (Darnell) Nurse, two guys that are so big and so strong and can skate well and play huge minutes. Those two in particular, but all of them have played well. (Brett) Kulak as well.”

But with two-and-a-half months left in the schedule, McDavid & Co. know there is still plenty of room for improvement if they hope to take another run deep into the post-season.

“It’s tough. It seems like our biggest issue is creating some offence, generating chances, I feel like that’s something for some reason our group has struggled with all year,” McDavid said. “But defensively we’re as solid as we’ve been since I’ve been here.”

E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge

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