'We'll see': Woodcroft refuses to say if Draisaitl is in Seattle with the Oilers

Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl (29) celebrates his second period goal during an NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

The coach of the Edmonton Oilers not only declined to say whether or not his German-born sniper would play Friday, Jay Woodcroft wouldn't even confirm what country he was in.

Leon Draisaitl missed two practices since the Oilers beat the Calgary Flames 2-1 on Tuesday.

Woodcroft said the NHL's second-highest scorer, with 57 points in 36 games, has some "bumps and bruises."

The coach was asked directly whether or not Draisaitl travelled to Washington state with the Oilers for their Friday night matchup with the Seattle Kraken, but he refused to answer.

"We had an optional skate here this morning, so we'll see what pours out of our starting gate in warmups," Woodcroft said with a smile.

"We obviously have a lot of really good options and he's one of them."

The reporter also asked Woodcroft if Stuart Skinner will start in goal.

"Ah, we'll see," he said before looking for the next question.

It's not unusual for Woodcorft to be coy about his lineup, but Draisaitl's absence would be a setback for the team that is fighting to get back into a playoff spot before 2022 is over.

The Oilers (19-15-2) were tied with Seattle (18-11-4) at 40 points ahead of Friday's game, with Edmonton having played three more games and sitting ninth in the Western Conference.

The Oilers made it to the Western Conference Finals last season and some fans and NHL insiders expected them to challenge for a Stanley Cup this year.

"We know what we're capable of. We know how good the group is. It's just a matter of putting it together consistently. Last game [in Calgary] was a big win and we have to string them together here. Once you do that, you're in a good spot," forward Zach Hyman said.

"We've had key players that have been out at different times, right? We've been able to kinda fight that adversity and have guys step up throughout our lineup….We have to battle through [injuries] and start stringing games together."

The Oilers have two games left this calendar year. Friday against Seattle and Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets. If they win both, they can leapfrog the Kraken and Flames and start 2023 back in a playoff spot.

"Our team, historically, has always struggled out of breaks. So it's important for us to get out of the break hot and it's a big win for us to kick-start us," Oilers Captain Connor McDavid said after beating Calgary.

Woodcroft was also asked about where his team is at as 2022 comes to a close.

"We're on the taking care of business on a day-to-day basis, right now. What's immediately in front of us is a team [Seattle] that's tied in points with us in the standings, a team that's had a really good first half," Woodcroft said.

"I think we have 14 games before the All-Star Game. That's a segment of a season. We can't win all 14 games today. We can only take care of what's in front of us today."

The Oilers face off against the Kraken shortly after 8 p.m. MT.