Mattias Ekholm reveals Edmonton Oilers' No. 1 priority amidst mounting injury woes

As the Edmonton Oilers march toward the postseason, there is one goal in mind, and it's not necessarily to get home-field advantage. That's something this team hasn't had in many of their latest playoff runs. Instead, defenseman Mattias Ekholm is focused on getting healthy. While the Oilers have lost 12 of their last 22 contests, they have also been maligned by injuries to several key players.

Ekholm said that health is "priority No. 1" for the team rather than trying to catch the Vegas Golden Knights (nine points ahead in the division) or the Los Angeles Kings (two points ahead in the division).

“Guys understand that when you play into June, it’s hard to be up for it every night," Ekholm told The Athletic last week. "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."

Mounting injuries, including those to Connor McDavid, Ekholm himself, John Klingberg, Stuart Skinner, and Trent Frederic, have affected the team's season, but the veteran defenseman is confident that this is a group that can do damage if healthy.

“But I love the group that we have in here," the Swedish hocker player said. "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.”

The Oilers do have to consider their standings, too, though. They're now just seven points ahead of the Calgary Flames and are in third place in the Pacific division of the Western Conference.

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Edmonton Oilers coach addresses mounting injuries

Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch doesn't have any semblance of his normal lineup at his disposal right now. They're missing several of their best players up and down the ice.

Knoblauch said that the situation was "as bad as it gets" with the sheer volume of significant injuries they're facing now. Even Leon Draisaitl was injured recently before getting off the report.

“The worst-case scenario is those guys aren’t ready for playoffs, and we’re very fortunate that none of those guys are even remotely looking like that, besides Evander (Kane)," the Oilers coach told The Athletic. "I think everybody else will be (back) before the regular season’s over.”