Lordy, lordy, who was that Edmonton Oilers defenceman wheeling up and down the ice at the team’s final practice on Monday before the team flies to Dallas?

It looked like No. 14, Mattias Ekholm.

“I feel good. … I didn’t think I would be in this position this quickly, so I’m really happy. First time on the ice for a full practice with the team. Now, it’s a matter of how I feel tomorrow,” said Ekholm, who has played just one game in the last seven weeks. He started against San Jose on April 11, only to suffer an undisclosed lower-body injury while playing just two shifts against the Sharks, after already having been out for two weeks before that.

Back then there was a fear that Ekholm was done for the season.

Now? While the current six defencemen — Evan Bouchard, Brett Kulak, Darnell Nurse, Troy Stecher, Jake Walman and John Klingberg — are coming off a strong series against Vegas, Ekholm might be joing the team on the road for Games 1 and 2 in Dallas.

He’s not ready to play, but he’s getting close.

“I can’t rule anything out, just taking it on a day-by-day basis. Our trainers have done a great job and the healing has gone better than I thought. I’m 35 soon and still healing. I guess that’s a good thing. I’m happy I’m this far along,” he said.

Again, there was thought Ekholm wouldn’t play again.

“That was a tough diagnosis to get at the time. It wasn’t anything I saw coming,” he said. “It was a heartbreaker at first, but getting over the disappointment, next day it was just trying to be available (rehab) at some point.”

If winger Evander Kane can step back in after not playing a single game for 10 months, anything’s possible for Ekholm, even this late in the playoffs. True, it’s likely harder for a defenceman, who is constantly twisting, turning, going back for pucks and getting hit along the end boards, than it would be for a winger. But Ekholm looked surprisingly good at a full-tempo practice.

“I’ve played over 100 playoff games and I’ve played deep in the playoffs before. … I have some experience that I can lean on. There will be some butterflies if I come back at some point. That’s human nature. Just take it every shift, every stride. I’m not looking too far ahead,” he said.

“I think Mattias’ mobility is pretty good, especially with how much time he’s had off and the type of injury. We’re off to a good start with him,” said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch, who wouldn’t confirm that Ekholm will be travelling Tuesday morning.

Normally, Ekholm would be on the first penalty kill pair, and used in a shutdown role against Roope Hintz, Mikko Rantanen and Mikael Granlund, but he’s not there yet.

What has Ekholm the spectator seen out of the current blue-line group?

“Amazing. Playing fast, playing simple, moving pucks, very sound. Look at our numbers, how few goals we’ve let in the last several games … it’s pretty down (two straight shutouts against the Golden Knights). There’s still lots of experience on the back end,” he said.

OLD HOME WEEK

Klingberg will be playing against his former team, with who he spent eight seasons before moving on to Anaheim, Minnesota and Toronto. He then needed major surgery on both hips before signing here as a free agent.

“I did get to play the Stars right away in playoffs when I was with Minnesota, so that emotional part is out the window,” said Klingberg, who had Jamie Benn, Hintz, Esa Lindell, Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley, Jake Oettinger, Jason Robertson and Tyler Seguin as teammates in his last season with Dallas in 2021-22.

“When I first came here I said it would be a process, and you think you’ll be worrying about your hips all the time, but then you draw an infection in your ankle. It was kind of a mess for a bit, but I’m very happy how my body has reacted to this many games, (playing) every other night. It’s holding up well,” said Klingberg, who is averaging 19 minutes a night and is currently paired with Walman. He’s has had no trouble with his hips, only a foot problem after stopping a shot.

“I seem to do my best work with a partner who moves the puck like I do,” said Klingberg. “You’re not using so much energy defending. I hear the opinions that (I) should play with someone big and steady who thinks defence. But Jake (Walman) can really skate and he has great hockey sense. And he’s one of the NHL leaders defensively in blocked shots and plus/minus (plus 13).”

A MAN OF STEEL

Sherwood Park’s Sam Steel seems to have a bigger role in these playoffs for Dallas right now than last season when he was fourth-line centre. Steel whipped a shot past Connor Hellebuyck in regulation time Saturday and was on the ice in the last minute in a 1-1 game when he got the breakaway after blocking a Mark Scheifele shot and was tripped by a desperate Scheifele, leading to Thomas Harley’s OT PP winner.

It should have been a penalty shot, but the refs gave Dallas a power play instead, which was fine for Steel, and only partly because he’d have to go against Hellebuyck, the slam-dunk Vezina trophy favourite.

“I was dead tired (playing the last shift in a tight game),” said Steel.

“You learn a lot about people in pressure, high-intense situations,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer told reporters after they knocked out the Jets. “Steeler has an unflappability. He rises to the occasion.”

Steel, a dazzling junior with Regina Pats, hasn’t been an NHL point-producer but does have six in 13 playoff games, playing 14 minutes a night and winning 53.1 percent of his face-offs. Steel, who just signed a two-year extension ($2.1m AAV) has fashioned a nice career as a checking C, also a good penalty-killer. In a way, like Toddy Marchant when he went to Anaheim.

THIS ‘N’ THAT

Oiler play-by-play man Jack Michaels and colour commentator sidekick Louie DeBrusk, who did a wonderful job in the first two playoff rounds on the national Sportsnet TV stage, will step aside for the network’s No. 1 crew of Chris Cuthbert and Craig Simpson for the Oiler-Dallas series with the Maple Leafs out. The freshly-shorn Gene Principe will stay as TV host with Chris and Craig in the booth. Michaels will move back to radio with Bob Stauffer for the Western final after Cam Moon did his usual fine work for CHED in rounds one and two. Unfortunately, the excellent play-caller Moon has been aced out of things. John Bartlett and Garry Galley, who did the Dallas-Winnipeg series as a pairing, will now do Florida-Carolina TV games.

Oiler winger Connor Brown, who missed Saturday’s practice for maintenance (some sort of ailment) was back on the ice Monday, skating hard.

Matt Duchene still doesn’t have a goal in the 13 Stars playoff games. “I would take one off my teeth right now. Half of my teeth are fake at this point anyway so I might as well lose another one,” joked the 30-goal regular-season scorer when talking to media after Dallas beat the Jets in Game 6