The Edmonton Oilers will be without one of their top defenceman on Saturday.
Mattias Ekholm will be sidelined against the Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+) with a concussion, head coach Mike Babcock told reporters on Friday.
Ekholm suffered the concussion in a collision with Carolina's William Carrier in the third period of the Oilers' win over the Hurricanes on Thursday. He appeared to hit his head on the ice as he attempted to play the puck in his own zone before the hit from Carrier.
He stayed on his knees as he was attended to by the trainers. Ekholm eventually got to his feet and made his way off the ice, but appeared unsteady and needed assistance from teammates.
Ekholm, 36, has one goal and two assists in 10 games.
