Oilers' Mattias Ekholm downplays Mikko Rantanen's electric form, instead hails 'underrated' $67,600,000 Stars forward 

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm shrugged off the buzz around Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen, choosing instead to highlight Roope Hintz as the key player to watch heading into the Western Conference Finals.

The Oilers and Stars are set to face off once again in the Western Conference Final for the second straight year. The Oilers got to the conference finals defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in five games, while the Stars advanced with a six-game victory over the Winnipeg Jets in Round 2.

Speaking during Monday's practice at Rogers Place, Ekholm pointed out that Rantanen benefits from playing with Hintz, who has an eight-year, $67,600,000 contract.

"I think that usually whats his center? Is it (Roope) Hintz? I mean, he's (Rantanen) a star player. Rarely does he do it by himself. He's got other players out there, and I think Hintz is very underrated. I think he's a good player," Ekholm said.

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Rantanen registered 19 points in 13 games with nine goals, including two hat tricks. However, Ekholm emphasized the need to approach the Stars' top line as a whole, rather than singling Rantanen.

“So you got to look at him as a line and try to take away. Obviously, he's the dangerous guy. He seems to be the guy that pucks are going in for right now. But we know they have a lot of other gifted players that can score from pretty much anywhere," Ekholm added.

Ekholm shared that as a defenseman, his main goal is to shut down entire lines, not just single players. While Rantanen is a threat, the Oilers know they can’t overlook the players around him.

Mattias Ekholm close to making comeback from injury

Mattias Ekholm returned to full team practice on Monday after being sidelined since April 11 with an undisclosed injury. Initially, he was expected to miss at least the first two games of the series. Still, head coach Kris Knoblauch remains hopeful the experienced defenseman will be back on the ice soon.

Speaking about the setback, Ekholm acknowledged the disappointment:

"Injuries happen in this sport. And obviously it wasn't anything that I saw coming or anything like that. So yeah, tough, tough situation that happened.

"whatever I can in my power to come back and be at least available for a little bit."

Game 1 between the Oilers and Stars is set for Wednesday at Rogers Place.