Oilers coach Knoblauch reveals injury to fan favourite defenceman from a fight

The Oilers got a surprise boost to their defence last night when Mattias Ekholm came back sooner than expected from an illness, but unfortunately they took another hit to their depth as Vincent Desharnais will be out for some time with an injury he sustained in a fight against Colorado's Josh Manson.

Desharnais fought Manson in a heavy hitting, long battle between the two massive defenceman. Manson pulled Desharnais off the boards and literally dragged him into the fight. The two both had moments where they nearly collapsed to the ice, only to get back up and keep going. It's tough to pinpoint where Desharnais could've been injured. A broken hand can be common in a fight, which would sideline him for nearly six weeks - hopefully that's not the case.




Coach Knoblauch mentioned in his post game comments that Desharnais would be evaluated by the medical team right away, so the next time the Oilers practice, we should have an update on his injury and timeline to return.

With Desharnais likely out of the lineup for some time now, new depth defender Troy Stetcher will be taking on a regular role on the third pairing.