Ex-Predators Defenseman Ekholm Having Stellar Series & Playoffs

Mattias Ekholm is still as good as he's ever been and one of the only players on the Edmonton Oilers playing consistent and dominant hockey in the playoffs this year.

It was a sad day when the Nashville Predators moved on from Ekholm and dealt him to the Oilers, only to see him arguably get better. In the second round of the playoffs against the team that knocked the Predators out, Ekholm has been tasked to do so much more for Edmonton.

He was very solid in the first round against the Los Angeles Kings, but wasn't a difference maker offensively, and the team didn't need him to be. The Oilers defeated the Kings in five games. The second round against the Vancouver Canucks has been a different story.

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Ekholm, paired with Evan Bouchard, has played the vast majority of shifts with Connor McDavid and his line to form a near power play unit at five-on-five. It has worked as this group has scored most of the goals for the Oilers and gives them a chance with nobody else stepping up to produce offensively.

In the three games against the Canucks, Ekholm has three goals and four points. He has potted one in the back of the net in all three games as well. He is also a +4 and has logged 24:23 minutes per game. A goal-per-game from a defenseman may not be sustainable, but regardless, he has contributed as much as he can at both ends of the ice in the series that the Oilers are now down 2-1 in.

Ekholm's pairing is the duo that the Oilers' coaching staff trusts, and he has always been that kind of defenseman. He's big and strong while playing a controlled and hard game in his own end. When he adds offense that has always been there in his repertoire, he becomes one of the best players in any given game.

The Predators could have definitely used the offense that Ekholm is bringing against the Canucks in the first round as there were so many close games where a goal or two would've made the difference. The Oilers are going to continue to need as much as Ekholm can give in the second round to move on and knock off the Canucks.

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