Eberle sits out second straight practice

Edmonton Oilers forward Jordan Eberle sat out practice for a second day in a row on Monday. 

Eberle, who isn't expected to miss any games, is being given "maintenance days" in order to make sure he's at 100 percent when the puck drops on game day.

"It's one of those nagging ones," head coach Dallas Eakins told Oilers.com "Even before I knew how he was yesterday, I let our medical staff know that I didn't want him to skate. I don't think it's necessary. He's a fairly fit kid and he's played lots of minutes for us.It's not like practicing is going to help him be better right now. I wanted him to stay off the ice. I knew it was going to screw up my practice a little bit but I was OK with that."

Eberle is one of the key cogs of the young Oilers offense, and according to Eakins, his absence in practice is obvious.

"You can argue he's been our best forward and a big part of our team. Just running practice without him isn't for the feint hearted. We'll cross our fingers that he's good for tomorrow but we've got to be careful with that too. We don't want to rush him and make it turn into something bigger."