Kris Knoblauch gives Connor Ingram update and Edmonton suddenly has a goalie problem

It hit during a 5-2 win in San Jose, with the Oilers grabbing a two-point Pacific lead at 40-29-10.

Knoblauch said Ingram felt discomfort late in the second period, and Edmonton shut him down for the third as a precaution. That word matters right now.

Precaution is better than panic, but it still changes the picture. Connor Ingram has been Edmonton's steadier option lately, with a 15-9-2 record, a 2.78 goals-against average and a .894 save percentage.

If Ingram misses even a start, the crease swings back toward Tristan Jarry, who owns an 18-9-3 mark but a 3.32 goals-against average and .882 save percentage.

You can hear the staff choosing caution, and that says plenty this close to the playoffs.

The bigger story is structural. Edmonton built this late-season version around cleaner defending in front of a goalie rotation that finally looked usable.

Jason Dickinson sits inside that same fix. Since arriving from Chicago on March 5, he has filled the hard-matchup third-line center job Knoblauch wanted.

Fans can live with one wobble. Two at once, in net and down the middle, feel a lot heavier.

Dickinson has 7-10-17 in 64 games, and his value is not flashy. It is faceoffs, penalty kills, and making top-six life easier for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

That is why Knoblauch's "no update yet" line on Dickinson lands hard. Edmonton can patch around skill injuries. Role-player injuries can wreck matchups.

The Oilers did real work at the deadline to get heavier and harder to play against. Ingram and Dickinson are part of that correction, not side pieces.

Knoblauch did not sound alarmed on Ingram, but he did sound protective.

That usually means the Oilers know exactly how thin the margin is now.