The Edmonton Oilers received a welcome addition to the defence just before the start of this year’s Stanley Cup Final.
Mattias Ekholm, the most complete defender on the team when healthy, played in one game (the May 29 clincher versus the Dallas Stars) and then settled in as a regular for the final versus the Florida Panthers.
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Ekholm’s return, married to various injuries, maladies and struggles, has reset the defensive depth chart since June 1. How much has changed? Which Oilers defenceman has seen the biggest push? Biggest fade? Here’s a look.
How much has changed?
Using five-on-five deployment via Natural Stat Trick, we can establish ice time during the early rounds of the final and then compare it to the most recent run against the Panthers.
In the first three rounds of the postseason, the Oilers averaged 51:32 five-on-five minutes per game. Against Florida, that total has increased to 56:49 per game through the first four contests. Despite a large amount of special teams time, the three overtime games in the final mean we have a much larger per game sample in the finals.
All things being equal (three pairings dividing the minutes evenly), we should expect an increase of about 90 seconds for each of the regular defenders in the Panthers games. Here are the numbers, by defenceman, through five games of the final:
| Player | First 3 rounds | SCF | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
18:46 |
20:42 |
2 minutes |
|
|
20:20 |
20:16 |
minus 4 secs |
|
|
20:01 |
19:43 |
minus 18 secs |
|
|
14:55 |
18:47 |
4 minutes |
|
|
17:43 |
18:03 |
20 secs |
|
|
16:43 |
16:46 |
3 secs |
All numbers five-on-five, via Natural Stat Trick
The increased minutes for Ekholm reflect his return to the lineup and the fact that Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch brought him along slowly in the one playoff game played before the final.
The revelation here is Evan Bouchard. The young puck mover had an uneven regular season and his share of critics at times during the playoffs. The coaching staff has elevated his minutes to the point where he is being deployed with the same frequency as Brett Kulak and Darnell Nurse.
Bouchard is the man who got the push. No player on this list is being faded significantly. When the increased overall minutes are considered (the increase in five-on-five minutes in the final), it is Ekholm and Bouchard who have been asked to step up.
The coaching staff is using Kulak with Bouchard and running Ekholm with Jake Walman, while trying to find a match for Nurse (it was Troy Stecher on Saturday night).
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As has been the case all season, the defence in Edmonton is in a state of flux. Fans should expect more tweaks for Game 6.
The on-ice results
All of those five-on-five minutes are not created equal. The Oilers’ blue line has been running up against high-quality opponents all spring, and that’s an important fact despite the relatively small sample of the postseason.
As an example, Bouchard faced the Phillip Danault line (52 minutes, 2-6 goals) in the series versus Los Angeles Kings; Jack Eichel in the Vegas Golden Knights series (5-1 goals in 37 minutes) and Mikko Rantanen (3-0 goals in 35 minutes) when facing the Stars. In the final, Bouchard’s most common opponent has been Sam Reinhart (48 minutes, 2-1 goals).
Here are the goal shares by each Edmonton regular defenceman, again split between the first three series and the current one against the Panthers.
| Player | First 3 Rounds | SCF |
|---|---|---|
|
61 pct (22-14) |
56 pct (5-4) |
|
|
100 pct (2-0) |
50 pct (6-6) |
|
|
48 pct (14-15) |
50 pct (3-3) |
|
|
64 pct (14-8) |
50 pct (1-1) |
|
|
64 pct (16-9) |
25 pct (2-6) |
|
|
67 pct (10-5) |
17 pct (1-5) |
All numbers five-on-five, via Natural Stat Trick
Those who describe Bouchard as a one-dimensional player have been less vocal during this year’s playoff run. The coaching staff has increased his five-on-five playing time during the final, which is the most important series of games all season.
Bouchard has delivered in those minutes. He has shown exceptional consistency in being on the proper side of the goal share all spring, with his 60 percent goal share No. 2 (behind Kulak) among Edmonton defencemen who have played 10 or more playoff games.
Also notable is the fall-off by the Walman and John Klingberg pairing. Those struggles have contributed to Klingberg’s exit from the lineup in favour of Stecher.
The key injury news here is Ekholm’s positive impact. Although Walman played well in the veteran’s absence during the first three rounds of the postseason, Ekholm’s exceptional range of abilities is evident against the Panthers.
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Offence and special teams
Bouchard is scoring at 2.08 points per 60 during five-on-five play this spring, which includes three assists in the final. Ekholm (1-3-4 against the Panthers) and Nurse (1-1-2 versus Florida) have also contributed.
Running 2-4-6 on the power play during the postseason, Bouchard is also contributing in a big way with the man advantage.
Over the entire playoff spring, this edition of the Oilers’ defence has been top-flight offensively. Bouchard’s totals, including all game states (7-16-23 in 21 games), have him No. 1 across the NHL by some margin (via Natural Stat Trick).
Walman (2-7-9) is in a tie for No. 6 among defencemen in playoff scoring, and Nurse (3-5-8) is in a tie for No. 9. The Oilers’ defence has aided the offence of the team this spring.
A quick note on Bouchard’s contribution to the penalty kill. Injuries and loss of effectiveness have opened up an opportunity for the young defenceman, and he has played well enough to increase his PK role substantially. After averaging just 14 seconds in the discipline during the regular season, Bouchard now stands at just shy of two minutes per game during the playoffs.
Bottom line
The injury to Ekholm forced general manager Stan Bowman to be active at the trade deadline. Acquiring Walman, after the mid-winter signing of Klingberg, allowed the organization to overcome the loss of Ekholm until his return.
Injuries have been a big story for this team over the entire season, but the recovery of Ekholm was timely and has turned the team’s top-six defence into a strength.
The continued emergence of Bouchard as a complete defenceman, despite many detractors who object to his casual style, remains the major story for Edmonton’s defence this spring.
The Bouchard contract will be a monster this summer. For now, no real argument can be made to counter the suggestion he is delivering on an extreme value contract ($3.9 million AAV via PuckPedia) at this time.
(Photo of Mattias Ekholm and Sam Reinhart: Perry Nelson / Imagn Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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