Ryan joins Connor McDavid and Tyson Barrie in COVID-19 protocol and will not play Wednesday. With two centres out, Kyle Turris and Colton Sceviour will likely have to shift to the middle of the ice.
The Oilers are in the middle of a tough stretch and things will get more difficult on Wednesday with McDavid, Tyson Barrie and Derek Ryan all in COVID-19 protocol. Ryan McLeod is expected to move into the top-6 with McDavid out.
Pederson will not be available for Tuesday's game in Detroit and will likely miss all three games this week. In addition to Pederson, Logan Couture was also placed on the COVID-19 protocol list.
Smith recently returned to the crease but appeared to suffer a lower-body injury in the latter part of Friday's game. Iyla Konovalov has been called up to serve as Mikko Koskinen's backup on Saturday.
The Sabres described Skinner as an "option" to play Saturday but Skinner told reporters that he "feels good and could play," so expect to see him in the lineup.
Nurse missed Wednesday's game in St. Louis while in COVID-19 protocol but is expected to be back in the lineup in New Jersey. The Oilers are also expected to get Jesse Puljujarvi and William Lagesson back.
Nugent-Hopkins missed the Oilers' last game but has cleared protocol and will play in St. Louis. Nugent-Hopkins has picked up 25 points (3G / 22A) in 28 games this season.
Hyman has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury but will play tonight in St. Louis. Hyman, who has scored 11 goals with eight assists (19 points) in 26 games this season, is expected to be back on the Oilers' top line with Connor McDavid.
Marc-Andre Fleury was placed on the COVID-19 protocol list on Monday, so Delia comes up to serve as the Blackhawks' No.2 ahead of Wednesday's game. Delia has gone 4-4-1 with a 2.86 GAA and .907 SV% in nine AHL games this season.
The Oilers have already been shut down through the Christmas break, so we'll see when they resume play next week. Nurse will likely be out until at least next Thursday.
Koekkoek has been out since November 18th but is expected to be back in the lineup on Saturday. Koekkoek has just one assist in 11 games this season.
Alex Nedeljkovic was added to COVID-19 protocol so Pickard is expected to serve as Thomas Greiss' backup on Saturday. Pickard has gone 9-7-2 with a 2.47 GAA and .926 SV% in 19 AHL games this season.
Nugent-Hopkins is the second Oilers player to go into COVID-19 protocol, joining Ryan McLeod. Nugent-Hopkins will likely miss at least 10 days.
