Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will miss the final five games of the season with a shoulder injury.
The team says Sunday on its Twitter account that Nugent-Hopkins is flying to Cleveland to have his shoulder examined and that surgery is likely.
After an impressive rookie season, Nugent-Hopkins' numbers were slightly down this year with just four goals and 20 assists in 40 games. He had 18 goals and 34 assists in 64 games in his first NHL season after being drafted first overall by Edmonton in 2011.
His left shoulder has caused problems for the center who missed 20 games last season because of it. He had to leave the Oilers' AHL affiliate last December for strengthening and conditioning on the shoulder before playing for Canada at the world junior championships.
