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Ekholm hits, scores, and helps Oilers clinch against Avalanche

Preston Hodgkinson
Preston Hodgkinson
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Apr 6 2024, 3:41 am
Ekholm hits, scores, and helps Oilers clinch against Avalanche
Perry Nelson/USA TODAY Sports

The Edmonton Oilers put a forgettable two-game road trip in the rearview mirror as they defeated the Colorado Avalanche by a score of 6-2 at Rogers Place to clinch a playoff spot.

Mattias Ekholm continued his excellent play on the blue line, picking up a goal and an assist on the night. Captain Connor McDavid chipped in as well with his 30th and 31st goals of the season.

“I thought throughout the entire lineup, just a really good game,” Leon Draisaitl told reporters after the game. “We’ve buckled down after a really poor start [to the season] and there’s a lot of resiliency and character in this group.

“It’s always nice to beat a good team… especially on home ice after a poor effort in Dallas.”

Corey Perry was even getting in on the fun as he sniped his 11th of the season (and seventh as an Oiler) within the first two minutes of the game.

Sublime Swede 

It was one of those nights where everything Ekholm did worked in his favour. The red-hot Swede was fantastic for the Oilers tonight as he picked up an assist and scored a crucial go-ahead goal in the second period. 

Even Ekholm is surprised by his torrid point production of late.

“I’ve never been part of anything like this,” Ekholm told reporters. “I’m trying to play my best and trying to do what I’ve always been doing, but they just seem to go in a little bit more.”

That wasn’t all he was contributing, as he also laid a thunderous body check on Mikko Rantanen, which drew the ire of the Avalanche and resulted in a PP for Edmonton. Rantanen did not return to the game. 

Ekholm didn’t see the hit as being dirty at all.

“I cannot see anything different that I can do [on the hit],” explained Ekholm. “I think it’s a shoulder on shoulder… hopefully he’ll be alright but, in my opinion, it was a hockey play.”

Ekholm has 15 points in his last 10 games and is 10-33-43 in 73 games this season. 

Draisaitl hitting new highs

Lost in the Ekholm hype from tonight was Leon Draisaitl hitting two important milestones. The first came off an assist on McDavid’s first-period marker, giving the German the fifth 100-point season of his career. 

That put him at 499 career assists in the NHL, but that didn’t last long. He picked up 500 with a helper on Ekholm’s second-period goal. 

Draisaitl picked up his 500th assist in 713 games and is just the fifth to do so in an Oilers uniform. 

Kane busts slump

Evander Kane entered tonight’s game with no goals in his last 21 games. It was not the type of streak that the sniper had gone on many times in his 925-game NHL career and, luckily, it came to an end against the Avalanche. 

They say good things happen when you go to the net, which rang true for the 32-year-old power forward. 

“It was nice to end the streak tonight,” said Kane. “Seemed like that was the only way it was gonna go in, so I’ll take it.”

If that wasn’t enough, he added another in the third period to put things out of reach.

Kane now has 23 goals in 73 games this season. 

The Oilers end a mini two-game losing streak with the victory and officially clinch a playoff spot for the fourth straight season. Their record improves to 46-24-5 and 97 points. That is five points behind the Vancouver Canucks for the Pacific Division lead and five ahead of the third-place Vegas Golden Knights.

Next up is a one-game road trip down to the highway to take on the Calgary Flames in the final Battle of Alberta of the season tomorrow night.

Preston HodgkinsonPreston Hodgkinson
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