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Injury updates for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Tom Gilbert

Edmonton Oilers v Phoenix Coyotes

GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 15: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins #93 of the Edmonton Oilers skates off the ice following warm ups to the NHL game against the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena on December 15, 2011 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Christian Petersen

After a lengthy spell of away game incompetence, the Edmonton Oilers went to Chicago and beat the Blackhawks 4-3 last night. Normally that would be cause for celebration, but that win seemed costly with injuries to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Tom Gilbert.

Exact timetables are usually tough to come by, but the team provided some hazy updates that might be a round of good news/bad news.

First, the bad news: Tom Renney said that Nugent-Hopkins will miss at least the Oilers’ next two games, if not more. It appears that RNH is dealing with a shoulder injury that came when he lost his edge and fell during last night’s game.

By mere optics alone, it would seem that Gilbert’s injury would be more severe considering how bad that Dan Carcillo hit looked. Jim Matheson reports that Gilbert’s knee is already showing improvement from Monday, although he won’t play in tonight’s game against the Buffalo Sabres. He may, however, be able to participate in a “light skate” on Wednesday, though.

Most outsiders would expect the loss of RNH to tower over Gilbert’s absence, but many Oilers fans expressed a different belief last night. Either way, both players are catalysts for the Oil O, so the hope is that neither misses much time.

In the mean time, the Oilers recalled hard-hitting blueliner Colten Teubert and forward Josh Green to fill those offensive and defensive voids.