Kris Knoblauch Offers Injury Updates On Hyman and Arvidsson

The Oilers will be without their top two right wingers for a while longer.

Head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters after practice on Monday that both Viktor Arvidsson and Zach Hyman will remain out of action for about another week and won't play when the Oilers return to action this weekend.

This is yet another extension of both players' timelines after their undisclosed injuries were originally characterized as minor issues. The hope was that their current five-day layoff would help them return, but to no avail.

Arvidsson hasn't played since November 12th against the New York Islanders, despite Knoblauch saying he missed the next day's practice due to a maintenance day and had a "50/50" shot to play on the 14th. The Oilers placed Arvidsson on the injured reserve on November 21st, and after this weekend's games will have missed eight games.

This is nothing new for Arvidsson, who has been plagued with injury issues throughout his career. Last season was particularly difficult, as he only played 18 games for the Los Angeles Kings in between various injuries.

It's a similar story for Hyman, who left last Tuesday's game in Ottawa late in the second period after being on the receiving end of a few big hits over the past few games. He was originally expected to be out for 4-7 days, which would've put him on track to return on Friday in Utah, but now isn't expected back until next Tuesday in Las Vegas at the earliest.

The Oilers have been busy in their absence, claiming Kasperi Kapanen off waivers and recalling Drake Caggiula to fill out their forward corps. With Caggiula and Josh Brown reassigned to Bakersfield on Saturday, the Oilers will have to make another move before Friday, with another Caggiula recall the most likely outcome.

In the meantime, the Oilers seem to have settled on their forward lines without Arvidsson and Hyman, as they ran the same lineup at Monday's practice as they did in Saturday's win over the Rangers. They'll need more big games from Vasily Podkolzin, Kasperi Kapanen, and Mattias Janmark as they head into a crucial weekend without two of their top forwards.

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