Yamamoto skated once again this morning but did not take part in line rushes, and it appears as if he'll be scratched for the Oilers' season opener. Jesse Puljujarvi will skate on the top line, and Devin Shore was recalled from the AHL to take his place in the lineup.
Yamamoto was on the ice for Monday's practice and head coach Jay Woodcroft called it a "positive sign" but still listed him as questionable for Wednesday. Jesse Puljujarvi skated on the Oilers top line in practice, with Yamamoto skating as an extra.
Yamamoto will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury. Brad Malone replaced him in Game 3 and could remain in the lineup for Game 4.
Yamamoto suffered an undisclosed injury in Florida and missed Sunday's game in Carolina. Yamamoto was originally not expected to play tonight but he was on the ice for warmups and skated on the second line with Leon Draisaitl. He'll be a game-time call in Philadelphia, where warmups will start at 6:30 PM ET.
Yamamoto is expected to miss his second straight game on Tuesday but it's a possibility that he plays this week. Expect Warren Foegele to remain in the Oilers' top-6 while Yamamoto is out.
Yamamoto was pulled off of the ice at Friday's practice and will not be available for at least five days. Luckily all of the Oilers games have been cancelled except for Monday's meeting with the Senators on Monday. As of now, that game is scheduled to go ahead and the Oilers would be without Yamamoto for that game.
Yamamoto had a terrific 27-game stretch in 2020 but failed to match that production in his first full season in 2021. Yamamoto scored just eight goals and 13 assists (21 points) in 52 games last year, playing almost exclusively with Leon Draisaitl. The lack of production led to Yamamoto getting a one-year bridge deal at $1.175M to prove he can bounce back before the Oilers commit to him with big dollars on a longer-term deal.
Yamamoto was a bit of a surprise scratch on Thursday and will not play Saturday vs. the Jets. With Yamamoto out, look for Josh Archibald to continue to skate on the Oilers' second line with Leon Draisaitl.
The Oilers will get Yamamoto back much earlier than his original 2-to-3 week timetable. Yamamoto missed just three games with an ankle injury but will be back on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Yamamoto was surprisingly in practice on Friday and was listed as a game-time decision, but head coach Dave Tippet said that he won’t play vs. the Jets. Look for him to be back in the lineup Monday in Nashville.
This is a huge blow for the Oilers, who loaded up at the deadline on Monday. Since Yamamoto came up from the AHL, the trio of Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins and Yamamoto have been red-hot. Yamamoto had 18 points (7G / 11A) in his last 16 games but will likely miss at least a couple of weeks. The newly acquired Tyler Ennis could be a replacement for Yamamoto.
Yamamoto was in the lineup for the last four games but has just one goal and one assist in 17 NHL games this season. He goes back to the AHL, where he has four goals and four assists (eight points) in 11 games.
