So when Edmonton Oilers’ defenceman Mattias Ekholm returns from his illness and maybe an undisclosed injury, likely Thursday when the National Hockey League’s best team, the Winnipeg Jets, are here, does Ekholm automatically go back with Evan Bouchard?
Or does the pairing of Jake Walman and Bouchard stay together?
Maybe Ekholm plays his off-side with Darnell Nurse when he gets back? Then the portable lefty Brett Kulak could anchor the third pair with a rotating set of righties — Ty Emberson, Troy Stecher and John Klingberg— to keep all three in the picture and playing some, with the playoffs a month away.
The left-shot Walman, who has also played right-side with Nurse after the trade with the San Jose Sharks on March 6, has played 52 minutes five-on-five with the Bouchard, outshooting the opposition almost two to one, but it might be hard to break up the Ekholm-Bouchard pairing that has been pretty exclusive for the 160 games the Swede has played since joining the Oilers at the 2023 trade deadline.
Ekholm, who had his troubles at the 4Nations Face-off, and then was -7 in five games after the NHL break before starting his absence from the lineup after the 6-2 Ducks blowout here two weeks ago, still is a staggering plus-82 in his 160 games with the Oilers.
Stecher took a forearm in the kisser from Matt Rempe in New York Sunday, giving away 70 pounds and 11 inches to the 6’9”, 255-pound behemoth. After the players became entangled along the boards, Stecher, who is one of the NHL’s true gamers at his size, came back with cotton plugging both nostrils to staunch the blood flow.
The Oilers have been remarkably healthy on their back-end the last three years but only Bouchard and Kulak have played all 67 games this season. Kulak hasn’t missed a since he was traded here in 2022.
MODEL OF CONSISTENCY
Much has been made of Leon Draisaitl’s NHL best 18-game point streak this season — one better than Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak — but more revealing is Draisaitl’s only been held off the scoresheet twice in the last 42 games, going back to Dec. 3, 2024 in Vegas, so half a season. He didn’t get a point against Buffalo in a 3-2 win at Rogers Place Jan. 25 and in Boston in a 4-0 Oilers win on Jan. 7.
He has 69 points and 32 goals in that 42-game span.
He’s been held without a point only 10 times in his 67 games.
Draisaitl’s next goal will give him 50 for the fourth time (55, 52 and 50 before this), and he’s 12 ahead of Toronto’s William Nylander. The four 50-goal seasons will tie him with Oilers Hall of Famer Jari Kurri,. Draisaitl is four goals from 400.
This ‘n that
While Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner’s season (.897 save percentage) could certainly be better — he knows it, all of his critics even more so — he has 23 wins. That’s the same as the much-hyped Igor Shesterkin, of the New York Rangers, and the guy he outplayed Sunday in New York.
Oiler winger Corey Perry’s 15 goals (79 shots in 66 games) is the third most goals he’s had in a season in the last seven years. He had 19 for Tampa in 21-22 and 17 for Anaheim in 2017-2018. He’s playing 11:39 a game.
There’s conjecture the Oilers may be recalling centre Derek Ryan from the farm (eight points in 13 games) but nothing official yet. They could seriously use a right-shot for face-offs on the fourth line with wingers Kasperi Kapanen and Mattias Janmark in that role the last while. Kapanen is 39.5 per cent, Janmark 42.5 per cent. Ryan was 60.3 percent on 229 draws when sent down.
One of the reasons Florida gave Jesse Puljujarvi a shot on their AHL farm team in Charlotte, then signed the ex-Oilers forward to an NHL contract is Panthers’ GM Bill Zito and Puljujarvi’s agent Markus Lehto used to be good friends and partners in a player agency Acme World Sports. Jesse has seven points in 12 games in Charlotte.
Artemi Panarin had 12 shot attempts at Stuart Skinner on Sunday at Madison Square Garden and six were blocked, with only four hitting the net. The Rangers awful power play (0-for-3 and 1-for-20 over the past seven games) was predictable, in the middle and pass over J.T. Miller at the face-off circle. He missed the net five times and had one blocked. Only two Miller shots got through to Skinner.
Ex-Oilers forward Sam Gagner, who signed a pro tryout agreement on Ottawa’s AHL farm team in Belleville to stay ready in case any NHL teams came calling isn’t listed on their roster any longer. He played 19 games with 10 points on Sens farm squad but he decided to head home (Toronto area) after the trade deadline March 7 when nobody dealt for him.
“I was away from my family too much,” said Gagner, who has wife Rachel and three kids.
While Oilers’ 2024 first-rounder centre/right-winger Sam O’Reilly is tied for third in scoring (68 points in 60 games) on probably the CHL’s best junior team in London (10 losses, 318 goals for in 65 games), the most surprising story coming out of the major junior ranks is Oilers’ seventh-round pick last June (196th overall) William Nicholl. He’s fifth in team scoring with 53 points.
It’s getting towards the end of the run for Oilers’ prospect defenceman Phil Kemp, currently nursing a hand injury. The assistant captain in Bakersfield is an unrestricted free-agent on July 1 and stalled in his attempts to get up to the NHL here, he could be looking for a new NHL organization.
With Utah here Tuesday, ex Oil Kings winger Dylan Guenther is tied with forward Clayton Keller (24 goals) for tops there on the club in a dogfight for second wild card in the West with Vancouver, Calgary and St. Louis.
When the Oilers acquired winger Roby Jarventie last July from Ottawa for former first-round pick Xavier Bourqualt, they thought Jarventie, a former second-round draft, would be a possible call-up from Bakersfield during the season but he hasn’t played for months (knee). Now there’s a Finnish newspaper report that injured farmhand will be going home after the Bakersfield AHL season to play for his hometown (Tampere) Tappara club. The Oilers aren’t so sure about that story. “We’re not worried,” said Oilers assistant GM Keith Gretzky. Jarventie’s contract ends after this season.
Defenceman Travis Dermott, reclaimed off waivers from Minnesota three weeks ago, has yet to play game on the farm for personal reasons.
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