Oilers’ hat-trick hero Ekholm doubtful for Thursday date with Sharks

Oiler Mattias Eckholm scored a hat trick against the Ducks, making him and Bouchard the first defensive pair in history to post back-to-back hat tricks.

Monday’s hero is doubtful for Thursday’s action.

Mattias Ekholm paced the Edmonton Oilers Monday night to a 7-4 win over the visiting Anaheim Ducks with his first career hat-trick.

Now the 35-year-old first-pairing defenceman is sidelined with an undisclosed injury, his status day-to-day, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said Wednesday morning after practice.

The Oilers (27-19-8) are scheduled to host the San Jose Sharks (27-21-3) on Thursday.

Ekholm’s Monday feat came a game after his blueline partner, Evan Bouchard, also scored three goals, the latter’s in a 6-5 overtime win Saturday over the Washington Capitals.

Ekholm’s and Bouchard’s trios of tallies marked the first time in National Hockey League history that defencemen on the same team recorded a hat-trick in consecutive games.

Celebrini challenge awaits

Thursday will be the first time star Connor McDavid and the Oilers have faced the Sharks this season, including their star Macklin Celebrini, who has raced up the scoring table in his second NHL season.

McDavid said the 19-year-old Celebrini seems “driven.”

“You could tell even last year when we played against him, he plays hard. He plays not a typical kind of teenager game, he plays a hard game. He’s dug in on face-offs, wins puck battles and does all the little things that a veteran does, so it’s been impressive.”

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who’s been an NHL regular since he was drafted first overall by the Oilers in 2011, said Celebrini is one of “a handful of guys” who’ve been able to come into the league and have the kind of impact he’s having on the Sharks.

“His skill level is high, he’s a really good skater, but playing against him a couple of times now and then watching him on TV, it’s his compete (level) and the way that he thinks a game, that is what allows him to have success already like this, at this level, and just be hard to play against,” said Nugent-Hopkins, who has skated with Celebrini – both hail from the Vancouver area – in summers past. “He’s just competing all over the ice, and you can see that maybe a little bit in summer, but you got to get into real hockey (games) to bring that out.”

Oilers winger Matt Savoie, too, has an idea of what to expect from Celebrini: speed and shiftiness. The pair played together for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship two years ago in Sweden.

“(It’s) the speed that he plays at: He’s got a heavy motor. He’s always moving,” Savoie told media. “He’s deceptive. He uses a lot of fakes, so you’ve always got to be on your toes when defending him.”

Olympics coming into focus

With the start of next month’s Winter Olympics in Italy getting closer by the day and just four Oilers games left before they start, McDavid said Wednesday he and his Canadian teammates will be quick to pick up camaraderie once the NHL pauses play.

“Even though we’re out playing against each other, I think there’s still an understanding of we’re going to be teammates here in a couple of weeks,” McDavid told media after practice when asked if last year’s 4 Nations tournament helped Team Canada build kinship.

“Play hard, obviously, but there’s still that little relationship there. There are lots of things that go on behind the scenes that allow us to hit the ground running when we get there in Italy.”