BLOG: Ekholm & Dickinson close to returning, could be back against Calgary

EDMONTON, AB – There could be a pair of big additions for the Battle of Alberta.

While both defenceman Mattias Ekholm & forward Jason Dickinson will tell you that they feel good to go, it's going to take the concerted minds of the Oilers medical staff to make the final call on their status for Wednesday's meeting with the Flames.

Both Oilers skaters are looking to get back into the lineup from their respective injuries on Wednesday, with Coach Babcock saying the decisions will likely be made in the morning, but their availability for Edmonton's clash with Calgary looks promising after being regular participants during Tuesday's practice at Rogers Place.

If not against the Flames, their returns look locked in for Edmonton's upcoming three-game road trip to New York, which begins with the first of back-to-back games on Saturday against the Islanders.

Ekholm was injured early in the third period of last week's victory over the Hurricanes after his head came into contact with the ice from a routine hit in the corner, leading to his early exit, but the Swedish blueliner said on Tuesday he's cleared protocols after saying that he'd never had a concussion before over his long hockey career.

The 36-year-old said it was a surreal experience as he tried to get himself up off the ice, before he made his way down the tunnel and seemingly snapped back to reality when he got back into the locker room. He joined the high-five line after the team's win and said he felt lucky not to have experienced anything worse from the incident.

"It was a funky one," Ekholm said. "I've never – knock on wood – had a concussion in my career so far, so it was scary at first. My legs just kind of gave out, and I couldn't really get up to just sit on my knees.

"But as soon as I got down the tunnel, I was kind of like somebody flipped the light switch on, and I was kind of back to normal. I had no headache, no symptoms, nothing. But when you get hit like that, you gotta go through the protocol and all that, so they've been taking good care of me.

"But I've been feeling good since five minutes after it happened. I think I got an angel watching over me or something on that one, because it could have been a lot worse."

Ekholm was back on the top pairing during Thursday's practice and looks to assume his big-minute role for the Oilers alongside his dynamic and regular blueline partner Evan Bouchard, having a goal and two assists averaging 21:01 in ice time through 10 games this season.

Dickinson, meanwhile, has endured a much more complicated road to recovery, limited to only three appearances this season after recovering from a nagging ankle injury, only to be sidelined again by a groin issue that surfaced during practice on Oct. 14 before a visit from the Utah Mammoth.

During Tuesday's practice, he took regular reps on the fourth line between Mathieu Joseph and Isaac Howard, signalling he's getting close to a return that will hopefully be lasting after failing to find consistency through all the recovery he's faced as an Oiler.

Always wanting to be available, Dickinson said he's had to learn patience and not let negative thoughts take over throughout the process, which has been difficult.

"You test the psyche a lot in those moments, and I definitely had some bad days, and I'm not happy about them, but they happen because it's the competitor in me," he said. "I can't turn it off.  It's part of the DNA. It's part of being a professional athlete, and it kills you when things like this happen, because you feel so good and it all seems to go sideways."

"I worked so hard to come back, and then all of a sudden, a punch in the teeth to say: ' Get back to the gym, get back to the medical table and get yourself right again'. Definitely hard."