Defenseman Vincent Desharnais of the Oilers is being assessed for injuries following a confrontation with Manson of the Avalanche.
Following a brawl on Saturday night, defenseman Vincent Desharnais of the Edmonton Oilers is undergoing evaluation for an injury.
It happened during the Oilers’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche in the second period. Just over 30 seconds remained in the period when Avs defenseman Josh Manson attempted to hit Desharnais into goaltender Stuart Skinner, resulting in a brawl close to the Oilers’ net.
A number of players, including Manson and Desharnais, gathered close to the boards after players voiced their objections. After Desharnais removed Manson’s helmet, the two broke away from the group and removed the gloves. After landing a few blows and remaining upright, each player skated to their own closed room.
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch stated that Desharnais “may be” struggling with an ailment due to it even though there was no obvious injury.
“We will only assess him in terms of his health. “We’ll see,” he stated, then proceeded to say, “Hopefully it’s not major.” We’re only exercising caution.
Before the bout, the 6’7″ Desharnais skated 12:29, although he didn’t play during the third period. It was his fifth fight overall and fourth of the season since he joined the Oilers midway through the 2022–2023 campaign.
Troy Stecher, who the Oilers acquired at the NHL trade deadline, would cover for him on the right side of the team’s defense if he were to miss time. In his 13:55 skate against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, he made his team debut, registering five hits, one shot block, and two minor penalties.
The Edmonton personnel will have some time to assess Desharnais because the team won’t be playing again until Tuesday at Rogers Place against the Montreal Canadiens. After that, they play a string of one-day on, one-day off games that end with back-to-back contests against the Calgary Flames and Avalanche on April 5 and 6, respectively.