Oilers Reveal Major Injury Update on Mattias Ekholm Before Western Conference Final

While there’s a remote possibility he could potentially be available in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday, at the very least it sounds like he could play at some point in the series.

“I watched him yesterday and I watched him today, I think it's going well,” Knoblauch told reporters. “I think his mobility is pretty good considering how much time he's had off and the type of injury that he had, so I think we're off to a good start.”

Ekholm admitted on Monday that he initially believed he’d miss the entire postseason.

Though details of his injury haven’t been made public, it appears whatever he’s been battling through may not be as bad as initially feared.

“I feel good; I didn't think I would be in this position this quickly, so I'm really happy about that,” he said. “Our trainers have done a tremendous job with me. Healing has gone better than I thought, but I'm still just trying to take it day by day. Today was the first time [these playoffs] I was on the ice for a full practice. I thought that it went pretty well.

“Now it's a matter of how I feel tomorrow, so I can't rule anything out or rule anything in. I'm trying to go on a day-to-day basis, and I'm just happy that I've come this far along.”