Oilers’ Mattias Ekholm to return Tuesday versus Utah after missing six games due to illness

The Edmonton Oilers will have a bolstered blue line Tuesday versus the Utah Hockey Club as defenseman Mattias Ekholm is set to return to the lineup after missing the past six games due to illness, per team reporter Tony Brar.

Sidelined since early March, Ekholm has made 60 appearances with the Oilers this season in which he has scored eight times and added 19 assists to sit second in team scoring among defensemen with 27 points. Ekholm has also registered 28 penalty minutes and a plus-10 rating while averaging 22:36 in time on ice, second on the squad behind only fellow rearguard Evan Bouchard.

Skating in his third season with the Oilers, the 2023-24 campaign witnessed Ekholm record a career-high 45 points counting 11 goals and 34 assists coming in 79 games. The 34-year-old Swedish-born blue-liner then added another five goals and five assists for 10 points in 25 postseason appearances before falling to the Florida Panthers in a seven-game Stanley Cup Final.

Originally chosen by the Nashville Predators in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Draft, Ekholm has totaled 879 career contests between the Predators and Oilers in which he has collected 85 goals and 269 assists for 354 points. Ekholm has also added 12 goals and 40 assists for 52 points through 112 postseason appearances.

Prior to the 2023 trade deadline, Edmonton acquired Ekholm from Nashville in exchange for four pieces including 2022 first-round selection Reid Schaefer as well as the Oilers’ 2023 first-round draft choice. Per PuckPedia, Ekholm is in the third year of a four-year pact that carries a $6.25-million annual average value, with $250,000 retained by the Predators.

Entering Tuesday’s contest against Utah, the Oilers are in the midst of a two-game winning streak and sit second place in the Pacific Division with a 39-24-4 showing, four points shy of the Vegas Golden Knights.