What we heard and saw at Oilers practice: Mike Babcock's Toronto reunion and more New York Times (Online) Janson Duench EDMONTON — It was a brief practice for the Edmonton Oilers between game days at Rogers Place, and two big names were noticeably absent: defenceman Mattias Ekholm and goaltender Devon Levi. Ekholm left early in the third period of Thursday's 6-5 shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes after a collision with William Carrier. Head coach Mike Babcock said postgame that Ekholm could miss at least a week, and he had no additional update on the nature of the injury or Ekholm's timeline following Friday's practice. Ekholm appeared to hit his head on the ice as he attempted to play the puck in his own zone before the hit from Carrier. He remained on his knees while being evaluated by trainers. Though he eventually stood up and left the ice, he appeared unsteady and required help from his teammates to reach the locker room. “I didn't really see it,” Connor McDavid said after Friday's practice. “I still haven't really seen it, and I don't like to watch that. I don't like to see that stuff, obviously with someone that we care about so much. So, he's doing great. He looks great, feels great. So that's really positive, but you never like to see that.” Levi's absence on Friday was a larger surprise. The 24-year-old, who has risen to the task as Edmonton's early No. 1 netminder, was also not on the ice after playing the entire game against Carolina and stopping 22 shots for his sixth win of the season. Babcock didn't provide any updates on the nature of Levi's absence, but indicated that both a defenceman and a goalie were being recalled from the AHL Bakersfield Condors. Tristan Jarry was already scheduled to start against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, but now he will be backed up by a different netminder. In other injury news, Jason Dickinson still isn't practising with the team after being placed on injured reserve Thursday. The 31-year-old centre last played on Oct. 13 against the Los Angeles Kings, and has only suited up for three games this season. Not enough can be said about the start McDavid has pieced together through 10 games. McDavid has 31 points, and the Oilers are plus-27 with him on the ice and minus-13 without him. His teammates were nearly at a loss for words Thursday night trying to describe what they're watching, including when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was asked whether this is the best hockey he's ever seen from his captain. “I get asked that a lot and I feel like my answer is always yes because he just keeps raising his level,” he said. “And it's not just putting up five points when it's a 5-1 game or 5-0 game. Those are big goals, and his level that he's at right now is impressive.” As expected, McDavid has humbly deflected questions about his individual genius. “I'm playing with some special players,” he said Friday. “Power play is starting to come along. There's been some bounces, too. The tying goal last night obviously is a bounce. Pucks are going off bigger guys, so that's part of it as well.” Given everything that has transpired between then and now, the Mike Babcock era in Toronto feels like a distant memory, including for the man himself. “It's about a hundred years ago, right?” Babcock said. “So, you know, even the Beatles broke up. So, you get on with it.” In reality, it's been nearly seven years since the bench boss was fired by the Maple Leafs in November 2019. The true reunion in Toronto won't come until the Oilers visit on Nov. 14, but he's set to face his former team for the first time as Edmonton's head coach. There will be plenty of familiar faces, including first-year Toronto head coach Jim Hiller, whom Babcock first hired as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings in 2014. When Babcock moved to Toronto in 2015, Hiller eventually followed, working with the team through 2019. Babcock said he met Hiller while moving his daughter to the University of Portland, and appreciated that their hockey beliefs were “100 percent different” from each other, which has been one of his common refrains in describing the coaches he's surrounded himself with. When asked about facing Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly for the first time on an opposing bench, Babcock gave them their flowers. “I was real fortunate,” Babcock said. “We had to do a lot of losing to get (Matthews), I can tell you that, so that was a home run when we got him. And then we had Mitch Marner, we had (Zach Hyman), we had tons of good young guys, and we weren't a veteran team, and in the end, we didn't get done in playoff time, and so that's why I get a new address.” The players that were 22, 23 and 25 when Babcock was fired are now NHL veterans with major individual accomplishments, but still limited playoff success. “They're in their prime now,” Babcock said. “(Rielly) is on the back end, a real good person, played great for me and enjoyed coaching him. (Matthews), it's always great to see his progression in the league and how good a player he is. He scored four goals in his first game in the league, but he's still come miles in that time. (Nylander), what an unbelievable human being. Can flat-out score. I watched him the other night; he was drilling it in the net. He can fly.” After a season of turmoil for the Maple Leafs, they're a dangerous team again, led by a resurgent Matthews. The 29-year-old entered Friday as the league's fifth-highest point-getter with 18 in 12 games. “They got some players for sure,” said McDavid. “And they're playing well. It's always an exciting game in our building. Love when the Toronto fans show up in our building, and it's loud, and you get both sides going. It makes for a fun atmosphere.” Shakir Mukhamadullin took up Ekholm's usual place beside Evan Bouchard at Friday's practice. It's not clear if he will remain there for Saturday's game. In any case, the 24-year-old has been on the outside looking in since a 4-2 loss to the Utah Mammoth on Oct. 15. In the second period of that game, Mukhamadullin failed to pick up Mammoth star Logan Cooley on the rush, allowing him to score and put Utah ahead 3-1. Mukhamadullin remembers the play well. “I think I played well the whole game,” Mukhamadullin told The Athletic . “Just that one moment happened, and maybe I lost focus for a second. I actually didn't see the puck because I'm checking (Cooley). As soon as I turn my head, the puck already goes there. It's a tough moment for me, but I have to figure it out. That's why our coach is asking me to play hard and heavy in the D-zone and just be focused every time. It shouldn't ever happen again.” Babcock delivered an understanding tone on Friday when asked about Mukhamadullin's limited action this season. “He should have never came out of lineup,” Babcock said. “He played great. He made one mistake on a box-out, and we pulled him out. That was one clip he was in, in three games. He's played great for us. We like him.” Babcock said Mukhamadullin was playing with Bouchard because he and the coaching staff “hadn't spent enough time thinking about what we're doing for tomorrow.”