Oilers regain 2 players, lose 2 as they continue to endure injuries

Edmonton Oilers forward Kasperi Kapanen left Thursday practice early after appearing to be hurt and struggling to get off the ice.

The injury bug is biting the Edmonton Oilers again just when they are getting some players back from the sidelines.

Head coach Kris Knoblauch said Friday that forwards Jack Roslovic and Kasperi Kapanen will be out of the National Hockey League team’s lineup for the foreseeable future.

He said Roslovic, who was hurt during the team’s last game – an 8-3 blowout loss to the Dallas Stars – would be out “a couple of weeks. We’re not anticipating him anytime soon,” while Kapanen’s status changed at the team’s last practice, going from imminent return to out of action “at least a week, maybe several weeks.”

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Roslovic, who is fourth in team scoring with 10 goals and 18 points in 23 games played, was presumably hurt after he blocked a shot by Stars centre Tyler Seguin early in the second period, although he did return to action in the third. Kapanen was close to a return to action after being out of the lineup with an injury since mid-October, but appeared to have reaggravated whatever was ailing him in Thursday’s practice.

Knoblauch said defenceman Jake Walman would miss his third game in a row but could return to the lineup as soon as Tuesday. Forward Noah Philp also remains out of the lineup after getting hurt four games ago in a 5-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 17.

“It is what it is. Every team goes through injuries,” the coach told reporters. “We were going to add some new life, a little bit different dynamic with those players, but we’re going to just have to find a way with what we have.”

The good news is forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Curtis Lazar are slated to return to the lineup from injury for their next game on Saturday (2 p.m. MT) in Seattle against the Kraken, who should prove to be a tough test for the Oilers as they sport a 11-6-6 record, including going 4-1 against Pacific Division rivals.

Nugent-Hopkins has been out of the lineup the last three weeks, missing the last nine games after getting hurt during a 9-1 loss to the visiting Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 8. Lazar missed the last four games with an upper-body injury he suffered against the Sabres.

The Kraken beat the Oilers earlier this season, with captain and ex-Oilers star Jordan Eberle scoring twice in a 3-2 win at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena.

Seattle is 10-0-3 in games in which they score at least three goals.

Edmonton is 10-10-5 overall with a 1-1-2 record against Pacific opponents. The Oilers have given up 93 goals in 25 games this year and have collected 77 for a -16 scoring differential.