"It's about defending": Ekholm says Oilers need to change approach for playoff success

It took quite some time to get here, but it feels like this season is truly Stanley Cup or bust for the Edmonton Oilers.

Leon Draisaitl recently said just that, and it appears that the entire team is entering training camp with some serious motivation to go the distance this season.

Another Oiler who has that same type of mentality is Mattias Ekholm. The 33-year-old was acquired at the trade deadline last season and immediately provided a huge boost to the Oilers’ back end. He has been a superb defensive player throughout his career and believes the Oilers need to shift to that style of play more to achieve their ultimate goal.

“It was two even teams. I thought it was an even series up until a certain point,” Ekholm said on the Got Yer Back Podcast, referring to the Oilers series versus the Vegas Golden Knights earlier this year. “Then, that came into play a little bit. We thought we were gonna win 5-1, not just sit down and wait, maybe grind a 1-1 game out until the second OT. That just has to come into our game at times. We need to be more patient with it.

“There’s no other team I’d like if you’re going to go with the team that’s going to score a lot of goals. I think this is the team. We just need to learn the lesson of, sometimes it’s about defending, sometimes it’s about keeping pucks deep, the clichés of the game where you just kind of kill the clock, kill the time. Just non-exciting hockey. Boring hockey, if you will.”

This is an opinion the majority of Oilers fans will agree with, as it was undoubtedly the biggest issue in their second-round loss to the Golden Knights. As Ekholm said, there are few teams who can score at will like the Oilers. That said, they have come to find in recent years that come the playoffs, defending is even more important. If they have truly learned that lesson, this could very well be the year in which they are crowned Stanley Cup champions.

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