LOS ANGELES -- In the span of five days, the atmosphere has turned from gloomy to glorious for the Edmonton Oilers, thanks in part to an increase in offensive production, but solidifying their play in the defensive zone as well.
The timing for such synergy could not be better heading into Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round against the Los Angeles Kings at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, TVAS2, ESPN, FDSNW).
Despite the loss of defenseman Mattias Ekholm for at least the rest of the opening round with an undisclosed injury, the Oilers have three healthy defense pairs humming, a big reason Edmonton was able to turn a 2-0 series deficit into a 3-2 series lead. Thanks to a 3-1 win at Crypto.com Arena in Game 5 on Tuesday, The Oilers are one victory from dispatching the Kings for the fourth consecutive postseason.
“I don’t think we’re ever going to replace Ekholm, he gives us so much, but the group we have right now are doing a tremendous job stepping up in his absence,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said Wednesday. “We’re fortunate to have that depth that we have.”
Darnell Nurse, Evan Bouchard, Brett Kulak, Jake Walman, John Klingberg and Ty Emberson are collectively making up for the loss of Ekholm, and Troy Stecher also is ready to return after overcoming an undisclosed injury.
The 22:12 of average ice time Ekholm recorded through 65 regular-season games is being distributed among the group; through the first five games of the series, Bouchard leads all Oilers defenseman in average ice time (25:59), followed by Nurse (24:53), Kulak (24:15), Walman (20:37), Klingberg (20:20) and Emberson (11:29).
“Obviously [Ekholm] is a big hole that we’re missing,” Walman said. “But there’s guys here that can step up and kind of fill that void. It’s just a goal that we’re setting for ourselves to keep the score down and play good defense. We have such skilled guys up front that the more we can play in the [offensive] zone, the better off for us.”
Acquired by Edmonton in a trade with the San Jose Sharks on March 7, Walman missed the last six games of the season with an undisclosed injury before returning for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. His ice time has steadily increased and he has found chemistry on a pair with Klingberg, who returned in Game 2 after sitting out the 20 of the last 21 games of the regular season with the injury.
“Thinking back to the trade deadline, we're thinking, 'What do we need?' " Knoblauch said. "We were thinking maybe a top-line forward or a depth defenseman. Certainly with the injury to Ekholm, we’re very fortunate the right move was to trade for a guy like Walman, and in fact, Walman has been a great fit for us.”
Klingberg is starting to fit in as well. He signed a one-year free-agent contract with Edmonton on Jan. 17, not having played since undergoing season-ending hip surgery in December 2023, as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Klingberg made his debut with Edmonton in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 30, and played 10 of 11 games before sitting out the next 10 games. He returned for a 6-1 loss at the Seattle Kraken on March. 27, but was injured blocking a shot, which forced him to miss the last 10 games of the season. His ankle developed an infection, keeping him out of the lineup longer than expected.
“I feel good, this is the best I’ve moved so far on the ice,” Klingberg said prior to Game 5. “I think the time off with my ankle and the meds probably helped my hips a little bit, so it’s been good and I’m just going to keep building on that.”
Klingberg was an effective two-way defenseman for the Dallas Stars prior to developing issues with each hip; he had an NHL career-best 67 points (eight goals, 59 assists) in 82 games for Dallas in 2017-18.
“Klingberg, him not playing for about a year then coming back and playing a handful of games, then getting hurt again and then playing a couple of games, it’s not easy for anybody to do,” Knoblauch said. “I think he has been a strong addition to our team, and he’s been great back there. He tells us this is the best he’s felt. When he came back there was maybe a little glitch (with his hips), maybe not 100 percent and playing through it ,and he needed to get stronger and need some time off.”
The 32-year-old displayed his offensive attributes in Game 5, setting up forward Evander Kane for the tying goal. Klingberg made a good play to fend off Kings defenseman Drew Doughty coming out of the penalty box and slid the puck over to Kane in the slot. His shot bounced off the skate of defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and up over goalie Darcy Kuemper to knot it 1-1 at 6:16 of the second period.
Forward Mattias Janmark scored the winning goal at 7:12 of the third period and center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored an empty-net goal at 19:02 with Kuemper on the bench for an extra attacker.
“Whether it’s the treatments or whatever it was, he’s now feeling the way he wants to feel,” Knoblauch said of Klingberg. “Anytime a player feels comfortable with their body, their surroundings, their partner, whatever it is, ultimately they’re going to play better, and I think right now he feels comfortable with what he’s doing.”
