Oscar Klefbom latest Oilers defenceman to hit injured reserve

OscarKlefbom is the latest Edmonton Oilers defenceman to be placedon injured reserve.

Klefbom, like many of his teammates, had a rough start to the season.He played 19:41 on Monday in the Oilers 5-3 win over the San Jose Sharks.

After morning practice on Tuesday, coach Todd McLellan said Klefbom's play has been much better lately, despite the fact hehas been nagged by an upper-body injury.

"Oscar's game has come a long way over the last few weeks," McLellan said.

"He's been playing sore and hurt for a while. With us getting Larsson back and [Andrej] Sekera getting close, now is the time to give him the time he needs to heal throughout the Christmas break. So he's gone on IR. He'll be out for a minimum of seven days, obviously."

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The news comes the day after defencemanAdam Larsson returned from an injury that kept him out of eight games.

The team also recalled forward Anton Slepyshev from the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League, one day after he was sent down.

Slepyshev, 23, has appeared in 15 games with the Oilers this season and has one goal and two assists.

To make room for Slepyshev, the Oilers placedforward Nathan Walker on waivers.

Walker also played in Monday's gameand took a holding penalty early in the firstperiod.

The Oilers also announced Tuesday the team has traded forward Greg Chase to the Florida Panthersfor future considerations.