Mattias Ekholm impressed with how Oilers’ defence has stepped up in his absence

Edmonton Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm says he has been impressed with the way his fellow blueliners have been able to elevate their game despite his extended absence.

The veteran defender has yet to make an appearance in these playoffs while his team has been able to reach the Western Conference Finals for a second straight season. While the Oilers have certainly done well without him, his return is imminent as he continues to be a more active participant in practices.

He won’t be ready for Game 1 against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday, but Ekholm is confident the defence will continue to be effective.

“ Amazing. I think they’ve done really, really well,” he said to reporters after practice on Monday. “Playing fast, plain, simple, moving pucks. You look at our defensive numbers and how many goals we ultimately have let in in the last whatever games, it’s been pretty down, right? That’s a credit to the whole team, but I think our D-core has been very sound. Obviously there’s a lot of experience on that back end right now. So, love the way they’re playing and hopefully we keep it going.”

When Ekholm initially went down with the undisclosed injury that was suggested to be season-ending, many Oilers fans thought it spelled doom for their season, with them set to face off against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round. Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, the rest of the team stepped up in his absence, along with some luck on their side, to overcome their rivals and then quickly dispatch the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round.

The fact that Edmonton was able to overcome the absence of one of its most important players speaks to how much knowledge of the playoffs the team has built up over the past few years. It’s why they are one of the four teams remaining that have reached this point of the postseason recently.

“I think if you look at an overall picture, I think that experience is a big thing,” Ekholm said. “I think experience helps you in those situations. When it’s a little bit tougher, when you go down in the series or whatever late in the playoffs, you know what to do and stay calm. I think those teams have all those elements of experience.”

While it certainly hasn’t been a cakewalk to make it back to the third round, their rematch against the Stars is going to be quite the challenge. That was evident by the fact they shored up their roster with Mikko Rantanen being the centrepiece of Dallas’ attack. They definitely gave the Oilers a run for their money a year ago, and it is a good bet to assume that this second encounter will also go long.

That doesn’t faze Ekholm because he knows how to prepare for a rematch against an opponent in the playoffs.

“ I mean, we did that with LA. We’ve done that for the last few years with them, so I think it’s nothing new for us,” he said. “Obviously, we know that they want revenge just like we did with Vegas.  It’s a bit of a different dynamic, but I don’t think it plays in that much into the series, so to speak.  I think it’s more we know that they want to get us back, but we’re obviously gonna be prepared to not let that happen.”