Slowly but surely, the Edmonton Oilers are approaching full strength.
It's been a while. Mattias Ekholm hasn't played since March 4th, and he was under the weather for a few weeks before that. Zach Hyman missed Sunday's game against the New York Rangers, and John Klingberg has been fighting a minor injury for the past few weeks.
Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers team site to never miss the latest news, game-day coverage, and more.
All three were at the Oilers' morning skate on Tuesday, and Kris Knoblauch confirmed that Ekholm and Hyman will be in the lineup against Utah on Tuesday night.
It's hard to overstate the impact of their returns. The Oilers have had depth issues all season long, and Ekholm and Hyman have been two of the only bridges between the superstars and the rest of the lineup.
The additions of Ekholm and Hyman bring the Oilers back to full-strength and have their lineup looking stronger than ever after the secondary scoring finally stepped up against the Rangers.
Trending Oilers Articles
Oilers News Recap: First Week After 2025 Trade Deadline
EDMONTON – Reminders are beneficial.
How Oilers Can Get The Most Out Of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Leon Draisaitl's Milestone Cements His MVP Case
Revamped Oilers Blueline Could Be Best In The League
Oilers Bring Up Valuable Forward Derek Ryan
Oilers Game Schedule For March 2025
EDMONTON -- It's trade deadline month.
Ekholm will be a very interesting player on Tuesday night. He had been fighting some kind of illness since it made its way through the Oilers' dressing room in late January, and was clearly exhausted coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off. Hopefully, sitting out the past six games with a lower-bdy injury is enough to get Ekholm back on track.
"It's hard to watch on TV, I don't really like that at all," Ekholm said after practice on Tuesday. "I'm happy I'm feeling better, it was hard to watch, just not being a part of it."
Ekholm's return will mark the debut of the Oilers' newly revamped blueline at full strength. He'll take his usual spot on the top pair next to Evan Bouchard, while Jake Walman will primarily play on the second with Darnell Nurse.
"It's been exciting to watch [Walman], I think he's done a great job fitting in," Ekholm said of his newest teammate. "I think he plays a great style, he's very sound out there."
Ekholm and the Oilers face off against the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. at Rogers Place.
Add us to your Google News favourites, and never miss a story.