Oliver Ekman-Larsson is heating up at crucial time for the Canucks

Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s first season with the Vancouver Canucks has not been a Picasso.

The 30-year-old defenceman’s offence has dissipated drastically this year. He’s on pace for his lowest point-per-game mark since he was a rookie with the Arizona Coyotes back in 2010-11.

Lately though? Ekman-Larsson is beginning to heat up.

He’s currently on a four-game point streak (five assists), including three points in his last two games with Quinn Hughes out of the lineup.

Not only was he rewarded with some power play time, but Ekman-Larsson was the recipient of the Canucks championship belt after a critical 5-1 win against the Coyotes on Thursday.

BELT TIME! pic.twitter.com/tJ0rIFpvHV

— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) April 8, 2022

“It wasn’t that pretty but it’s a win and it’s a streak, so keep it going,” Ekman-Larsson said post-game after getting the belt from Vasily Podkolzin.

Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau commented on Ekman-Larsson’s recent performance after practice on Saturday morning.

“He’s been great,” Boudreau said. “He was so-so when the team wasn’t going well, he probably wasn’t as good as he’d like to be then but he’s playing really well now.

“I thought he played great in Arizona and I thought he played great in Vegas.”

Canucks need more offence from Ekman-Larsson

It’s been a weird initial campaign for Ekman-Larsson in Vancouver. Even though his offensive production dissipated, he surprisingly morphed into an elite shutdown defenceman in the first half of the season.

That defensive effectiveness has faded recently.

Since the All-Star break, Ekman-Larsson’s 2.89 expected goals against per game is worst among all regular Canucks blueliners.

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However, since the All-Star break, Ekman-Larsson’s offensive game has re-emerged. In 26 games since February 5, the Swedish defenceman has one goal and 15 points.

That would put him on a 47-point pace, which is much closer to the player that he was when he was in his prime with Arizona. For a six-season stretch between 2013 and 2019, Ekman-Larsson averaged 45 points per season.

Even though his game began to decline over the last few campaigns, it was still shocking to see him on pace for less than 20 points at the midway mark of this season.

For a defender like Ekman-Larsson making more than $7 million per season, the Canucks desperately need some more consistency out of him on offence.

Thankfully, he’s provided that of late.

Are playoffs possible for he and the Canucks?

Ekman-Larsson hasn’t enjoyed a lot of playoff experience during his first 11 NHL seasons. He’s only been to the postseason twice.

The first appearance came in 2011-12 in Ekman-Larsson’s first full NHL season, when the Coyotes made a surprising run to the Western Conference Final.

The only other time he played in the postseason? That was when the Coyotes jumped from 11th in the West to the playoffs after beating the Nashville Predators in the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers. They ended up losing in five games in the first round to the Colorado Avalanche.

Although the playoffs are a long shot for Ekman-Larsson and the Canucks, at least they’re playing under a coach who has experience leading his team to an improbable playoff berth.

“Anything is possible. You never give up. We’re going to keep pushing."

🗣 Coach Bruce Boudreau takes questions ahead of playing the Sharks#Canucks | @theprovince pic.twitter.com/BH6diRy5uk

— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) April 9, 2022

“It’s possible,” Boudreau said after practice on Saturday.

The coach, who is hoping for some magic again, reflected on his 2007-08 season with the Washington Capitals, when that team won 11 of their final 12 games to make the playoffs.

“That same year we had to win the last seven, and we won the last seven so anything is possible,” he said.

“You never give up.”

With seven points in his last seven games, the Canucks are going to need Ekman-Larsson to continue leading the way if they want to clinch a miraculous postseason berth.