Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch has a timely update on injured defenseman Mattias Ekholm.
Edmonton fans had been hoping the blueliner could feature in the playoffs if the Oilers advanced to the Western Conference Finals.
Oilers HC Knoblauch on When Mattias Ekholm Could Return to the Ice
Speaking to reporters on Friday, May 16, Knoblauch revealed that top defenseman Mattias Ekholm is currently day-to-day.
“He is day-to-day and I’m not anticipating him being ready for game one or two, but we’re
optimistic that maybe sometime in this third round, he will join us,” Knoblauch said.
Ekholm hasn’t played for the Oilers since returning to the ice after a seven-game injury layoff on April 11. He has only featured once for Edmonton since March 26. He missed the final three games of the regular season and all of Edmonton’s 11 postseason games.
Ekholm recorded nine goals and 33 points this season with an average of over 22 minutes of ice time a night. He also has 12 goals and 52 points in 112 playoff games during his career.
The 34-year-old played a big part in Edmonton’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals last year, scoring five goals and playing for almost 22 minutes a night.
During the regular season, Knoblauch had admitted that Ekholm was an important lynchpin for the Oilers’ lineup.
“Mattias is a huge role for us. Whether he’s playing against other teams’ top lines, he contributes so much offensively. His offensive numbers aren’t as high as other top defensemen, but that’s just because of the other top defenseman getting their power-play points on the first unit. But five-on-five points, he’s among the leaders last two seasons, and then also on the penalty kill, he’s huge there,” Knoblauch said via Sportskeeda.
The Oilers head coach also provided an update about goalie Calvin Pickard, who was between the sticks for six of the Oilers’ eight wins in the playoffs this season but was injured in the second round. Knoblauch said that while Pickard would not be fit to take the ice for the first two games of the upcoming Western Conference Finals series, he is expected to return to the roster at some point.
Kasperi Kapanen scored the only goal of the night in overtime of Game 5 to take the Oilers to the Western Conference Finals for the second year in a row. They will face either the Winnipeg Jets or Dallas Stars, with Dallas leading the second-round series 3-2.