Mattias Ekholm names major advantage for Vegas Golden Knights this playoffs
Photo credit: Sergei Belski - USA Today Sports
The Edmonton Oilers will be headed to Vegas to begin the second round of the playoff on the road, and Vegas may have another advantage besides just home ice.
Defenceman Mattias Ekholm has unfortunately been ruled out of the entire second round, but earlier this season, he named a critical advantage for Vegas this year and this playoffs.
Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm says Vegas is much more rested than Oilers
In March of this year, Mattias Ekholm mentioned in an interview with the Athletic that Vegas had a much better shot at winning the division and clinching home ice because they were healthier and better rested after a short playoff last year.
Guys understand that when you play into June, it's hard to be up for it every night. Vegas got knocked down the first round, and they got an extra two months of rest. It's hard to win the division. Would I like to? Yes, absolutely.
I love the group that we have in here. I think we can do great damage. It's about getting healthy. I would say that that's priority number one. The biggest thing is to get everybody back feeling 100 percent.
- Mattias Ekholm
I love the group that we have in here. I think we can do great damage. It's about getting healthy. I would say that that's priority number one. The biggest thing is to get everybody back feeling 100 percent.
- Mattias Ekholm
Ekholm raised a solid point that the Oilers have played much more hockey than Vegas in the last year. That puts more stress on each Oilers player with injury and fatigue.
After a really healthy season last year, the Oilers caught the injury bug hard this season. McDavid, Draisaitl, Ekholm, Walman, Hyman, and much more missed time with injury, especially in the final weeks of the season.
Combine those injuries with the fatigue of the schedule, and the Oilers pressing to win the division and secure home ice was always a distant possibility. Vegas did end up winning the division, and may still have that advantage in playoffs.
Oilers depth stands out to give them a chance to win despite fatigue
Now heading into a second round matchup, the Oilers will have to elevate their game to their absolute physical maximums to earn a win in a 7 game series - especially against a top end, rested Vegas team on home ice.
The Oilers depth stepped up to contribute in the first round. Continuing to spread the minutes around may be the key to overcoming fatigue and injury on a long run, but the Oilers still have the two superstars.
The greatest players in sport find ways to meet those moments for victory in spite of everything else. McDavid and Draisaitl are those types of players leading a deep squad of supporting players, so they're never out of a series.
| POLL | ||
MAI 4 | 882 ANSWERS Mattias Ekholm names major advantage for Vegas Golden Knights this playoffs Do you think Ekholm will be able to return in this year's playoffs? | ||
| Yes | 519 | 58.8 % |
| No | 363 | 41.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
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