The Edmonton Oilers can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to injuries early on in this 2026-27 season.
The Oilers have recently been able to get Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins back in the lineup, but are still without plenty of regulars, including Matt Savoie, Jason Dickinson, Mattias Janmark, and goaltender Frederik Andersen.
To make matters worse, defenceman Mattias Ekholm was forced to leave Thursday night’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes after going hard into the ice after taking a check from William Carrier. It’s expected that the veteran defenceman will miss at least a week.
As if that weren’t bad enough for the Edmonton fan base, yet another injury was revealed by the team following Friday’s practice.
Mike Babcock met with reporters and informed them that Devon Levi will be missing some time with an undisclosed injury. The Oilers head coach didn’t reveal a timeline for the 24-year-old goaltender, but did state that he won’t be in the lineup on Saturday.
According to @EdmontonOilers Head Coach Mike Babcock…
Tristan Jarry will start tomorrow.
Says the Oilers will be calling up someone (I assume Matt Tomkins)…
As Devon Levi missed practice today— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) October 23, 2026
This is an extremely puzzling development given that Levi was able to lead the Oilers to a 6-5 shootout win against the ‘Canes on Thursday.
This is a major loss for the Oilers, as Levi has started seven of their first 10 games. Tristan Jarry will get the start on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and will serve as the first option for however long Levi is forced to miss.
While it hasn’t been confirmed, it’s expected that the Oilers will recall 32-year-old Matt Tomkins, who has started three of the Bakersfield Condors’ five games this season.
The good news for the Oilers is that they’ve gotten off to a very strong start despite all their injuries in the early going.
They currently sit atop the Western Conference with an 8-1-1 record and are currently riding a three-game win streak.