Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Schultz returns to Oilers lineup after eight-game absence

Edmonton Oilers v Colorado Avalanche

DENVER, CO - APRIL 19: Justin Schultz #19 of the Edmonton Oilers controls the ball against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center on April 19, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The Oilers defeated the Avalanche 4-1. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Edmonton will welcome defenseman Justin Schultz back into the lineup tonight when it hosts the Blue Jackets at Rexall.

Schultz, 23, has been out of action since suffering a groin injury against Toronto on Oct. 29. He’s proceeded to miss the Oilers’ last eight games, during which the club went 2-6-0.

Arguably the club’s top blueliner and a member of the NHL’s 2013 All-Rookie team, Schultz racked up 27 points in 48 games last year and was scoring at a similar clip this season, with 1G-6A through his first 14 games.

This promises to be a very important season for the former Anaheim draftee. Schultz is in the final year of a two-year, $7.55 million deal and will be a RFA in July. He’s projected to be a major part of the Oilers’ blueline moving forward, so it’ll be curious to see how he plays in his first-ever contract year.