- Mattias Ekholm will miss at least one week with an upper-body injury
- He left in the third period after a hit from Hurricanes forward William Carrier
- Read below for Mike Babcock’s update and who steps in on the blue line
The Oilers beat the Hurricanes, but they lost a top defenseman in the process.
Mattias Ekholm will be out at least one week with an upper-body injury, head coach Mike Babcock said after Thursday’s 6-5 shootout win in Edmonton.
Ekholm got hurt in the opening minute of the third period. Carrier checked him into the boards, and Ekholm’s head hit the ice. He was slow to get up, and teammates helped him off.
Babcock was asked about Ekholm’s condition after the game.
“Obviously, it didn’t look very pretty, his head slammed on the ice,” Babcock said. “He’s a bit of a Viking anyway, so he’ll be OK in a couple of weeks or a week or 10 days or whatever. But someone else gets a chance.”
Here is the update from Babcock’s postgame media availability:
Shakir Mukhamadullin is expected to draw into the lineup, and Jake Walman will likely move up into the top four. Ekholm had averaged 21:45 per game through 10 appearances, so the minutes have to go somewhere.
The 36-year-old has one goal and two assists this season. He’s in the first year of a three-year extension he signed last October, and he has been a fixture on the Oilers’ blue line since they acquired him from Nashville in 2023. He was part of both of their Stanley Cup Final runs.
Daily Faceoff’s fantasy account also listed him as expected to miss a week:
Edmonton is 8-1-1 and has the league’s best points percentage, thanks in large part to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who each had five points in the win. McDavid’s 31 points through 10 games are covered in our McDavid 30 points story.
