The Edmonton Oilers announced captain Shawn Horcoff will be held out of Thursday’s game against San Jose due to neck soreness.
Horcoff, 34, was hurt during Wednesday night’s 2-1 overtime win in Phoenix on a hit from Coyotes captain Shane Doan.
Click here to see video of the hit (at the :35 mark)
Horcoff left the contest shortly after the collision, and didn’t return. He appeared shaken on the play.
Jonathan Willis of the Edmonton Journal has two screen caps of the hit (see here and here) that suggest Horcoff didn’t see the hit coming, and that Doan’s shoulder impacts Horcoff’s head.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Oilers react to not having their captain in the lineup. Anton Lander has been recalled from AHL Oklahoma City, but he’ll be hard pressed to match what Horcoff brings.
While the captain only has 1G-1A-2PTS through six games this year, he is averaging over 16 minutes per game and is the club’s top faceoff man, winning 56.2 percent of his draws this season.