‘That’s got to be the standard’: Mattias Ekholm hopes Oilers build off win over Utah

“I think just everybody felt enough was enough,” Ekholm said after the game. ” It was kind of coming to a point where we need to start putting our work boots on. Kudos to us. We responded in that second period, but more importantly, we found our game, and that’s got to be the standard going forward. Everybody in this league is too good where you can’t just coast your way through a regular season, you have to put your work boots on, that’s number one, and I think everybody realized that today. … Hopefully, we learned from this tonight.”

Everyone contributed to the victory, as captain Connor McDavid scored twice, while Leon Draisaitl registered two points against Utah. Ty Emberson and Isaac Howard also found the back of the net.

“I felt like for the first 10 games,” Ekholm explained. “I don’t know if we had any games where we got easy goals. I don’t want to say we got easy goals tonight. I’m just saying we actually got some momentum and you get some oomph to your game when you actually get to be on for a goal before. … I think that also helps with the confidence that you don’t maybe necessarily spend as much time in the d-zone.”

With the win, the Oilers are now 5-4-2 on the season. Ekholm joked that, with this being his third full season with the team, the Oilers have had better results than the past two Octobers.

“If you look back at it, since I’ve been here, this is the best start we’ve ever had. … Obviously, we want to start better. … I don’t know that recipe, because I’ve been here now three tries and none has worked. So, as long as we get into the playoffs, I’m happy.”

Ekholm was open to his own criticism, stating that his game had been a little off as well during the early-season struggles.

“I haven’t liked my game at all the last five, six games. … I obviously try to play as good as I can every game, but some games it just doesn’t seem to find it. I think me and Evan [Bouchard]…we turned the puck over too much. We thought maybe the game was a little bit easy and it just doesn’t work that way. You have to earn your breaks. I think especially the last 40 tonight, we as a group, and myself, showed that that’s the level we got to be at.”

Though there’s still a lot of hockey to be played this season, Ekholm acknowledges that wins like Tuesday night could direct the Oilers in the right direction.

“I think that there is a quiet confidence in here. I don’t necessarily was nervous or panicking or anything like that just because we had a .500 start after 10 games…but, you never know, right? To be honest with you, this was one game. We need to follow this up on Thursday.”

The Oilers are slated to host the New York Rangers on Thursday night, looking to make it consecutive wins for the third time this season.

Through 11 games, Ekholm has scored a goal and six points. The Swedish rearguard signed a three-year contract extension earlier this month, which carries an AAV of $4 million through the 2028-29 campaign.