Injured McDavid leaves Oilers’ 3-2 overtime loss

Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid was injured in a 3-2 overtime loss at home to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night.

McDavid’s last shift of the game finished with 4:20 remaining in the third period. He could be seen reaching for his side during a rush up the ice. McDavid’s final two shifts of the game were 33 seconds and 34 seconds respectively, for a player who averages 56 seconds per shift.

McDavid remained on the bench in overtime, leaving Edmonton without last season’s NHL MVP in the extra session. Jets center Mark Scheifele scored at 3:53 of overtime to complete a Winnipeg rally for the win, dropping the Oilers to 1-3-1 on the season.

Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said after the game that he hadn’t spoken to team trainers about McDavid and expected to have more news about the injury on Sunday.

“It didn’t appear to be anything … it appeared to be muscular more than anything (else),” Woodcroft said.

McDavid is second on the Oilers with eight points in five games, including two goals. They could have used him in overtime: McDavid is second in the NHL over the last five seasons in goals scored in extra time (8).

For Edmonton, the loss to the Jets continued a troubling start for a team that was among the preseason Stanley Cup favorites. The Oilers had a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by defensemen Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard — both assisted on by McDavid — only to eventually lose in overtime.

“It feels like every mistake that we make ends up in the back of our net,” said center Leon Draisaitl, who also assisted on those goals. “It’s very frustrating. Our plan was to get off to a good start. And we haven’t been able to do that.”