Connor McDavid misses practices, possibly games with lower-body injury

“There is a chance,” Knoblauch said. “He’s day to day, it’s a maintenance thing.”

McDavid is coming off two assists Saturday in a 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames and sits third overall in league scoring with 130 points (31 goals, 99 assists), one assist away from becoming just the fourth player in NHL history to record triple digits in a season.

“It will be in Connor’s hands. He’ll make the decision on how he feels,” Knoblauch said of a possible return to duty. “We don’t know how bad the injury is and we don’t know how early he can come in. He has the best feel of what’s best for him.

“Obviously, we’re looking long-term and we’re being protective, but ultimately he knows how he feels and we’ll have that discussion with him tomorrow morning and then we’ll find out. Is this a game that we should have you playing in? He might say, yes. He might say, ‘No, I need another day or two,’ and we’ll decide then.”

Chances are, if it’s left entirely up to McDavid, his No. 97 will be front and centre on the ice Wednesday.

“He’s very competitive,” Knoblauch said. “I think Connor probably has the most influence on what happens. I think T.D. (Forss, head athletic therapist) obviously would know about how he can handle it at the risk of making it worse or playing through it, and deciding between those two. And then, I guess, ultimately I am the one who makes the decision on who goes in the lineup.

“But I’ll be getting that information mostly from those two before I make that decision.”

If Knoblauch had his way, he would, of course, choose to enter playoffs with as healthy a roster as possible to give the Oilers their best chance at a Stanley Cup run.

At the same time, there is still a chance the club could benefit from further home-ice advantage by taking a run at wrestling the Canucks for top spot in the division — a place the Oilers haven’t finished in since 1987.

“Playoffs are obviously more important than what happens in the regular season, but going forward we want to win as many games as possible,” said Knoblauch, who took over for the ousted Jay Woodcroft following a 3-9-1 start to the season. “We’ve said that right from back in November, we’re just trying to win games and see how high we can climb in the standings.

“But we’re not going to sacrifice the health of anybody or push too hard that we’re not in an ideal situation heading into the playoffs.”

McDavid missed two games in late October with a lower-body injury prior to returning for the Heritage Classic.

But Knoblauch said the latest injury, sustained in the game against the Flames, is not related.

“He played up until, I think, five minutes left in the game and he felt some discomfort and we didn’t want to make it worse,” Knoblauch said. “And we held him back.”