The Edmonton Oilers are feeling good about their defense ahead of this year's Stanley Cup Final. One of the reasons is because defenseman Mattias Ekholm is returning to the ice from injury. Ekholm feels ready to go, as the Oilers look for revenge against the Florida Panthers.

“It’s amazing,” Ekholm said, per NHL.com. “Six weeks ago, I had no clue where I was going to be at (in terms of recovery), and most people didn’t think I was going to be in this position. So, to be able to be part of this group, to be part of things on the ice and help this team win has obviously been the goal the whole time.

“And now that it’s reality, it’s awesome for me, personally.”

Ekholm had suffered an undisclosed injury, that left him sidelined for most of the postseason. He returned to the ice for Edmonton during the team's Western Conference final series against Dallas.

This season, the veteran has posted 33 points, and a plus-minus of +11.

The Oilers and Panthers play Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final Wednesday night in Edmonton. Florida defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern conference final.

The series is a rematch from last year's Stanley Cup Final, which saw Florida come away with the championship.

The Oilers need Mattias Ekholm

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Ekholm had missed several of the team's regular season games as well, due to being hurt. Now, the Oilers defenseman looks to stay on the ice as long as possible to help his team.

The Oilers defenseman posted one point in his only game this postseason.

“His first game, he exceeded expectations,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “And I say that because you never know what you’re going to get from a player coming back from an injury. He had been out for weeks, and then to come in to play against Dallas, who’s a good team, in a high-paced playoff game, he looked very comfortable and made a lot of nice plays and looked a lot like what we’re accustomed to seeing ‘Eky’ play, because he’s a heck of a player and you never know if he’s going to be able to pick that up right away.

“He played almost 16 minutes that night (15:52). Can he play some more? Absolutely. Can he play 30 (minutes)? Probably not there yet. But over 20, yes.”

Ekholm has posted 53 total points in the playoffs in his career. That includes 12 goals. He has appeared in 113 career playoff games, for the Oilers and Nashville Predators.