Oilers coach confirms reason behind Trent Frederic missing third period

Frederic's return date was delayed several times since being traded, and now even that he's lineup, he doesn't look anything close to fully healthy.

Trent Frederic only played 1:04 of ice time in the third period, and when asked today for a reason behind the benching, Coach Knoblauch said that was not injury related.

While Knoblauch and the Oilers might insist that Frederic is healthy, he didn't exactly look like it in Game 1. He's reportedly dealing with an ankle injury, and at times looked to struggle to pick up speed or control his skating.

However, even in only 9:11 of total ice time and returning from a severe injury, Frederic was able to get an assist on a crucial goal.

On the other hand, if Frederic is fully healthy, that means Knoblauch is holding him to reduced minutes for another reason.

He is getting up to speed with a new team in high stakes games, and could be eased in slow - but the Oilers will also face that situation with Evander Kane.

The Oilers acquired Frederic with the idea that he could be an Berger contributor to the team with his physical presence and depth scoring. He'll need to look a lot better than he did last night to do that. Hopefully, Frederic can find his game tomorrow night.