Defender Mattias Ekholm will return to the programming of Edmonton’s Oilers in the potential final of the Western Conference on Thursday, match 5 against the stars of Dallas.
Since April 11 with an unknown injury, Ekholm has missed the first two rounds of the eliminatory series for the Oilers, who beat the Kings of Los Angeles in six games and the Vegas Golden Knights in five before taking a 3-1 advance on the stars.
Ekholm was with the best defensive unit during Thursday’s skate.
“Here is a guy who plays for great minutes for us because he came to Edmonton about it,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch on Thursday. “Playing a arrest role, playing a penalty role, the power game, whatever it comes back and feels good, it’s an excellent addition to our team.”
From his injury, Ekholm said that “it feels good”, but that he is always “by ensuring that I am in a good place where I can’t just play but resist a few strokes”. He has tried to come back twice in recent weeks to worsen his injury.
Ekholm scored a career summit of 11 goals last season and helped Edmonton come together from a deficit of the 3-0 series in the Stanley Cup final, which the Oilers finally lost against the Florida Panthers. His 2024-25 campaign was interrupted with nine goals, while his 22:11 medium-sized ice time per game ranked third on the team.
– field level media