Despite all the hits the Edmonton Oilers have taken this season, they have managed to stay afloat and will themselves into the playoffs. When one man went down, it seemed that someone else stepped into his role as best he could and kept the team moving along. However, it’s playoff time now, and the Oilers will in fact be without their stud defender Mattias Ekholm for at least the first round, maybe more.
Ekholm’s absence is a large one for the entire team. His defensive prowess and presence on the blue line is incredible. The Oilers will not only miss him in Round 1, but they will need some of his teammates to step up and push the team forward as well.
Ekholm’s Impact
While this season was slightly down statistically compared to a season ago, it was still a solid one for Ekholm. In 65 games, he recorded nine goals and 33 points to go along with a plus-11 rating. A deeper look into the statistics provides an even better look into his impact on the team.
He ranked 45th in the league in takeaways with 35 of them, which is also good enough for third on the Oilers. He also ranks third on the team in goals above expected at 1.2, which is above a lot of great players in the league. Additionally, Ekholm and his usual defensive partner Evan Bouchard are ranked in the top 10 in a lot of advanced stats categories as a defensive pairing. It’s important to have a top pairing such as this down the stretch when you need guys to eat up minutes in big games. However, they can’t be effective when one guy is down, and so the Oilers must look elsewhere for contributions as the playoffs begin.
Who Needs to Step Up
There are a few key players that really need to step up their game in order to keep the team alive in the playoffs and hopefully until Ekholm can return to the lineup. Here are a few candidates on the Oilers that come to mind.
Evan Bouchard
The first player would obviously be Bouchard. Without his regular partner on the back end, he will need to adapt to a new dynamic playing with someone else for a while. Typically known more for his offensive play, Bouchard still has solid defensive stats. He is a plus-14 with 108 shot blocks and 55 takeaways, all top three among Oilers defencemen.
While it can be argued these stats have been aided by playing with Ekholm most of the season, it should be noted that Bouchard has played a lot of time on the team’s power play as well as with other partners. For example, he has played over 200 minutes with Brett Kulak, with whom he has found some success with from time to time. So, Bouchard stepping up for the Oilers these next couple weeks would be massive for the team’s success.
Stuart Skinner
Another player that could have a big impact without Ekholm is goaltender Stuart Skinner. With such a pillar on the defense missing, it could potentially bring more high-danger chances toward the Oilers’ net. Enter Stuart Skinner. Though he has missed some time with injury lately, he has taken on more of the workload in net for the team this season and will likely be the playoff starter. Facing a highly-skilled LA Kings team will bring a lot of action his way, and making that extra save or two could go a long way towards helping out the defence in front of him, who is a man down. Despite some underwhelming stats in the crease this season, he can make up for all of it come postseason time and steal a game or two for his team.
Jake Walman
One final player that could prove to be a game changer in the first round is recent acquisition Jake Walman. He has seen just one game of playoff action in his career, however, he is a much more developed player since then. He has 40 points this season, a higher mark than Ekholm in the same number of games. Additionally, he has really stabilized a back end that desperately needed it with all the ups and downs in the second half of the season. He won’t necessarily be a replacement for Ekholm as they are two different players, however, he can be a placeholder if he plays to his full potential in the coming games.
Losing Ekholm is a big blow to the Oilers who have relied so heavily on the veteran the last couple of postseasons. Having one or two other players step up right now would make a huge difference in how this playoff run goes for Edmonton. It would also potentially make a difference in things like contract talks for a player like Bouchard who is coming due, or a player like Walman who may be looking to stay with the team long-term. Regardless of that, someone needs to step up now.
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