Oilers Stan Bowman key pickups carrying team after losing Mattias Ekholm
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Oilers Stan Bowman key pickups carrying team after losing Matias Ekholm
Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman had made two shrewd moves prior to the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs which are paying off after the loss of defenseman Mattias Ekholm.
The situation looked grim for the Oilers after Ekholm was lost due to a serious injury that has kept him out of the playoffs and put a huge hole in the Oilers blue line.
Walman and Klingberg have stepped up in Ekholm's loss
Bowman had made two moves prior around the NHL trade deadline that made Oilers fans and pundits around the league turn their heads.
The Oilers acquired defenseman John klingberg through free agency late in the year after he declared himself ready to play after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery which shut him down when he was with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Bowman felt that he would take a chance on klingberg and after activating him in these playoffs, he has shown that he was exactly what Bowman thought he would be and has given the Oilers a chance to win every night with his great play.
The other key addition to the Oilers blue line is acquiring Jake Walman from the San Jose Sharks and has been fantastic in his own end as he is currently a + 11 through eight playoff games and has two points.
Walman has had an interesting career has he has played with four NHL teams since 2019 which include the Saint Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks and the Oilers.
Oilers continue to get great contributions from non star players
the big story for the Oilers in this playoff has been the non star players especially the bottom 6 and defensemen who have given the Oilers great performances.
Players like 39 year old veteran forward Corey Perry, Connor brown, Walman and Klingberg are some of the names that have contributed in various ways to have the Oilers up 2-0 against the Golden Knights in the second round.
If the Oilers want to continue pushing towards the Stanley Cup finals, these players and others will need to push their play and give results which is a sign of a great playoff team.
The Oilers will now head home to Rogers Place and prepare to play game three in front of their home crowd and hope to put a stranglehold on this series by going up 3-0.
Game 3 will be on May 10th and game time will be 10:00 PM eastern.
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