Report: McDavid expected to return in final week of regular season

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid is expected to return to the lineup in the final week of the regular season, TSN's Darren Dreger reported on Tuesday's early edition of "Insider Trading."

"The progress is good," Dreger added. "But the Oilers are also being sensitive to their timeline and also very cautious in terms of making sure he is healthy for the playoffs."

McDavid participated in Tuesday's morning skate in a non-contact jersey, and forwards Trent Frederic and Evander Kane were also on the ice.

"It's encouraging seeing a lot of new guys out there. ... It's exciting times for us," Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said Tuesday. "Hopefully, we can have those guys within the near future. Whether that's all three of them for the first game of the playoffs, I'm not sure, but they're trending in the right direction."

Knoblauch told reporters Sunday that he's confident McDavid can return before the start of the postseason, according to NHL.com's Derek Van Diest. The Oilers are about to kick off a four-game road trip starting Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights, and it initially wasn't certain if McDavid was going to join the team.

Edmonton has nine games remaining on its regular-season schedule, which concludes with a clash against the San Jose Sharks on April 16.

McDavid has missed the last four games with a lower-body injury. He appeared to be in discomfort following a collision with Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey in the Oilers' 4-3 overtime loss to Winnipeg on March 20 and was later ruled out of the remainder of the contest.

The superstar isn't the only key player missing from the Oilers' lineup, but it appears as though they won't be without starting goalie Stuart Skinner and defenseman Mattias Ekholm for much longer. Dreger reported that the former is "likely a week away," while the latter has a similar timeline but may return sooner.

Skinner was listed as day-to-day on Thursday after his head collided with Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen's knee during Wednesday's matchup. Ekholm, meanwhile, has played in just four of Edmonton's last 12 contests. He sat out six games with an illness and undisclosed injury, then returned to the lineup before missing the last two outings.

Edmonton was also without star forward Leon Draisaitl for four contests, but he returned with a clutch two-goal effort in Saturday's 3-2 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames.

The Oilers are currently in third place of the Pacific with a 42-26-5 record. They're two points behind the Los Angeles Kings in the second spot and trail the division-leading Golden Knights by nine points.