EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — NHL leading goal-scorer Leon Draisaitl was scratched due to an undisclosed injury in the Edmonton Oilers' home game against the Western Conference-leading Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.
Before the game, Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch referred to Draisaitl as being doubtful to play in listing the forward's status as day to day. He said the team was taking a cautious approach a month before the playoffs open and after Draisaitl was hurt in a 7-1 win over Utah on Tuesday.
“We feel that this is something that he probably could play through,” Knoblauch said. “We certainly don’t want it to be an issue for the long term.”
Draisaitl’s 49 goals lead the league, and he’s one away from reaching the 50-goal plateau for the fourth time in 11 NHL seasons. He also ranks second in the league with 101 points, three behind Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon entering games Thursday.
In the meantime, Oilers forward Evander Kane joined his teammates for an optional pregame skate for the first time this season. The 33-year-old Kane has yet to play this season. He remains on long-term IR after having abdominal surgery in September followed by a knee procedure done in January.
Also joining the Oilers for their morning skate was newly sworn in Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is a fan of the team having grown up in Edmonton. Carney wore an Oilers No. 24 jersey to represent being the nation’s 24th prime minister upon replacing Justin Trudeau, who stepped down earlier this month.
The 60-year-old Carney was a third-string goaltender at Harvard and co-captain of the Oxford University Blues.
In calling it “a special moment” to be joined by Carney, Knoblauch added: “It’s nice to have a (prime minister) who cheers for the good team.”
Carney was in Edmonton to meet with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney skates with Derek Ryan (10)at the NHL hockey team's practice during a visit to Edmonton, Alberta, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29) skates against the Utah Hockey Club during first period NHL action in Edmonton on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing three people and wounded 12, Ukrainian officials said Saturday, despite agreeing to a limited ceasefire.
Zaporizhzhia was hit by 12 drones, police said. Regional head Ivan Fedorov said that residential buildings, cars and communal buildings were set on fire in the Friday night attack. Photos showing emergency services scouring the rubble for survivors.
Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle Wednesday to a limited ceasefire after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with the countries’ leaders, though it remains to be seen what possible targets would be off-limits to attack.
The three sides appeared to hold starkly different views about what the deal covered. While the White House said “energy and infrastructure” would be part of the agreement, the Kremlin declared that the agreement referred more narrowly to “energy infrastructure.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would also like railways and ports to be protected.
The dead in Zaporizhzhia were three members of one family. The bodies of the daughter and father were pulled out from under the rubble while doctors unsuccessfully fought for the mother’s life for more than 10 hours, Fedorov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia fired a total of 179 drones and decoys in the latest wave of attacks overnight into Saturday. It said 100 were intercepted and a further 63 lost, likely having been electronically jammed.
Officials in the Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions also reported fires breaking out due to the falling debris from intercepted drones.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense, meanwhile, said its air defense systems shot down 47 Ukrainian drones.
Local authorities said two people were injured and there was damage to six apartments when a Ukrainian drone hit a high-rise apartment block in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Friday night.
Zelenskyy told reporters after Wednesday’s call with Trump that Ukraine and U.S. negotiators will discuss technical details related to the partial ceasefire during a meeting in Saudi Arabia on Monday. Russian negotiators are also set to hold separate talks with U.S. officials there.
Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine is open to a full, 30-day ceasefire that Trump has proposed, saying: “We will not be against any format, any steps toward unconditional ceasefire.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a complete ceasefire conditional on a halt of arms supplies to Kyiv and a suspension of Ukraine’s military mobilization — demands rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies.
Kremlin spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Saturday that Ukraine was continuing with “treacherous attacks” on energy infrastructure facilities, and that Russia reserved the right to a “symmetrical” response.
Her comments came after Russia accused Ukrainian forces Friday of blowing up a gas metering station near the town of Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk region. Ukraine’s military General Staff rejected Moscow’s accusations and blamed the Russian military for shelling the station as part of Russia’s “discrediting campaign.”
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Rescuers work on site of a residential building destroyed by a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential house destroyed by a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential house destroyed by a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
A clock with a family photo is seen among debris of a residential house destroyed by a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
Police officers carry the body of a person killed by a Russian drone strike in a residential neighborhood in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters try to put out a fire following a Russian attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
Rescuers work on site of a residential building destroyed by a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential house destroyed by a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential house destroyed by a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
A clock with a family photo is seen among debris of a residential house destroyed by a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
Police officers carry the body of a person killed by a Russian drone strike in a residential neighborhood in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
