Jordan Eberle will return to the Edmonton Oilers lineup on Friday, the team announced.
Eberle went out of the lineup with a shoulder injury in the preseason in a play not entirely dissimilar to what a fellow Oiler experienced this week. Eberle hasn’t yet made a regular season appearance.
Eberle’s return answers the question of what the team will do following this week’s injury to Connor McDavid, which will keep him out for months. His return allows the team not completely upend their top six group.
Coach Todd McLellan appears to be striving for balance in that group with the changes required by the LTIR carousel. (McDavid isn’t on LTIR yet, but may go there soon to provide cap relief if required.) TSN’s Jason Gregor reports that McLellan will make his top line Leon Draisaitl centering Taylor Hall and Eberle. The second line will feature Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in McDavid’s second line center position, with Nail Yakupov and Benoit Pouliot on the wings.
Last season Eberle scored 24 goals and 39 assists through 81 games.
Watch the below video to hear Eberle talk about his return to the ice.
"If I can contribute & keep them going, that's my goal." @ebs_14, will return tomorrow & play with Hall & Draisaitl
https://t.co/WiGcW3YYtq
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 5, 2015