Knoblauch: McDavid played with fracture in foot-ankle area - ESPN

Saturday was a revelatory one for the Edmonton Oilers in which Connor McDavid was at the center.

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch revealed that McDavid played through a fracture in the foot and ankle area en route to losing in six games to the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference quarterfinals. He also said forward Jason Dickinson had a similar injury.

«Obviously, it affected their play, Knoblauch said in speaking with reporters at the team's final media session. „But, [we have] a lot of admiration for them wanting to be out there, and contributing as much as they did during the playoffs.“

McDavid, who was a game-time decision going into Game 5, also said during the Oilers' end-of-year availability that „my advantage is my speed burst, you know, that quick step. I had none of that.“

Then there's what McDavid along with fellow Oilers superstar forward Leon Draisaitl said about how they believed the organization has „taken big steps backward.“

Draisaitl spoke first and was asked if he was concerned about the direction that the Oilers were taking.

»We didn't do a good enough job of properly winning games, and I don't like using the terminology of taking the regular season serious because we do," Draisaitl said. «We go into every game, and we try to do it right, we say the right things, but I think you have to in the regular season form these moments, you have to get comfortable in these moments. We didn't do that this year, and it ended up showing in the first round here.

»But yes, I am concerned because we are not trending in the right direction. We've taken big steps backwards and we've got to get a grip of this and head back in the right direction."

Advancing to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals while reaching the postseason