Oilers’ Mattias Ekholm day-to-day, out for first two games of West final

The Edmonton Oilers will start their third-round series without a top defenceman.

Mattias Ekholm won’t play in either of the first two games of the Western Conference final as he continues to recover from an undisclosed injury, head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters on Friday.

Ekholm has been out of the lineup since April 11. However, Knoblauch  said he is “optimistic” Ekholm could return at some point in Round 3.

Edmonton will face the winner of the Dallas-Winnipeg series for the right to play in the Stanley Cup Final. The Stars currently lead the series 3-2 ahead of Game 6 on Saturday.

Knoblauch also gave an update on goaltender Calvin Pickard, who stepped in to the starter’s role in Round 1, but was injured halfway through the second round. The 33-year-old also will not be ready to go for the start of the series, but the Oilers remain optimistic that he will be able to return.

Without Ekholm on the ice, Edmonton has relied on blue-liners Ty Emberson and Troy Stecher. Emberson played the first nine games of the post-season, while Stecher, who last played in the playoffs in 2022, entered the lineup for Game 4 on Monday.

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While Ekholm is a big loss on the back end, the Oilers have reeled off eight wins in their last nine after losing Games 1 and 2 in the first round to Los Angeles.

But the duo of Emberson and Stecher hasn’t produced in the way the big lefty can. The two righties have zero points, and while Stecher played 16:46 in Game 4, Emberson hasn’t logged double-digit minutes since Game 2 against the Kings.

Eklhom recorded nine goals and 33 points this season while logging over 22 minutes of ice time a night. He has 12 goals and 52 points in 112 playoff games.

During Edmonton’s run to the Stanley Cup Final last year, the six-foot-five, 225-pound defenceman potted five goals and played nearly 22 minutes a night.