Mattias Ekholm Strangely Tears Into Kasperi Kapanen During Oilers Goal Celebration
Kasperi Kapanen is off to a good start with his new team, recording his first point with the Edmonton Oilers while playing alongside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl last night - but he still got chewed out by Mattias Ekholm.
The Sportsnet panel noticed that during the Oilers goal celebration on Kapanen's first point, Ekholm came into the scrum and seemed to berate Kapanen.
On the play, Kapanen rounded the Rangers net and delivered a dangerous cross-ice low to high pass, that three different Rangers could've intercepted for a quick turnover.
The pass turned out to work, and Bouchard delivered a second perfect pass to McDavid to finish a beautiful goal, but it won't always happen like that.
Ekholm seemed to be genuinely ticked as the conversation went, which was better captured by another Sportsnet broadcast clip. The players were possibly discussing that dangerous pass and warning him that it could be costly.
Earlier this week, Corey Perry perfectly summed up a big problem for some of the Oilers depth players - they're playing too cute. It's caused the Oilers to profile as a perimeter offence team.
Other players may want to try risky skill plays like Kapanen's pass when they watch players like McDavid and Draisaitl dominate with plays like that every game.
But not every player has that ability, and the Oilers depth players need to know their roles and perform to them.
That's not to say never try a skill play, but Ekholm may have just been reminding Kapanen that he's got a great opportunity here in Edmonton that he shouldn't waste by making low percentage errant passes. Play a North-South game, and get pucks toward the net.
Kapanen may not stay on the top line, or even in the top six forward group when Zach Hyman and Victor Arvidsson return from their injuries.
However, Kapanen will add some much needed speed to the Oilers bottom six group, and may have the ability to jump up in the lineup if needed. Kapanen should be fully motivated to bring his best in Edmonton after being claimed on waivers, or it may be his last stop in the NHL.
The Oilers ended up bagging a 6-2 blowout win over the New York Rangers, a welcome sign to see the team handle a consistent playoff team. They'll now have a nice break for 5 days, when hopefully, they can pick up the momentum next week on their return.
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