Oilers announce major injury updates on Zach Hyman, Mattias Ekholm after being shut down

The Oilers were reportedly close to recalling Derek Ryan after Hyman was injured — and the roster move could still plausibly happen — but it's surely good news for Edmonton that Hyman is healthy.

Oilers coach Knoblauch updates Ekholm's status after being shut down

Coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off, Mattias Ekholm's play had clearly dipped and the Oilers chose to shut him down to fully heal up. Now, the Oilers expect him back by Thursday's game against Winnipeg.

Ekholm had been reportedly dealing with an illness that stretched back months, and was also playing through an injury.

It was a tough decision to shut down their top-pair defender for a while, but it should be well worth it in the long run to get him fully healthy before and the stretch run.

The last two injured Oilers now are Trent Frederic, who is expected back in a few weeks, and Evander Kane, who is expected back after the playoffs begin.

The Oilers are going through a bit of a rut right now, but it's been overlooked how many players they're missing from their final playoff lineup. With these additions getting healthy and back to the team, the Oilers should get a significant boost.