Oilers’ Mattias Ekholm to return following seven-game injury absence

Edmonton Oilers veteran defenseman Mattias Ekholm will make his return to the lineup Friday versus the Pacific Division rival San Jose Sharks, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed per team broadcaster Bob Stauffer.

While sidelined since late March, Ekholm has played just four of the past 17 games after missing the past seven games due to an undisclosed injury in addition to an illness that kept of the lineup for a six-game stretch through mid-March. On the season, Ekholm has made 64 appearances with the Oilers in which he has tallied nine goals and 24 assists to rank second among team defensemen with 33 points. With it, the 34-year-old Swedish-born blue-liner has also posted a plus-11 rating with 30 penalty minutes while averaging 22:31 time on ice, second-most on the squad behind fellow rearguard Evan Bouchard.

Originally chosen by the Nashville Predators in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Draft, Ekholm has totaled 883 career contests with the Predators and Oilers in which he has collected 86 goals and 274 assists for 360 points. With the Oilers last season, Ekholm reached a career-high 45 points counting 11 goals and 34 assists coming in 79 games. Ekholm has also seen 112 postseason appearances in which he has registered 12 goals and 40 assists for 52 points, underscored by two trips to the Stanley Cup Final.

Per PuckPedia, Ekholm is in the third year of a four-year pact that carries a $6.25-million annual average value, of which $250,000 is retained by the Predators. The Oilers originally acquired Ekholm ahead of the 2023 NHL trade deadline in exchange for veteran rearguard Tyson Barrie, forward prospect Reid Schaefer, plus first- and fourth-round draft selections.

Entering Friday’s contest against the Sharks, the Oilers sit third place in the Pacific Division with a 45-28-5 record and 95 points.