Mattias Ekholm

Mattias Ekholm keeps showing up as one of those players who makes the contract look smarter every time the games get heavier. Edmonton needs defenders who can survive the grind without making the rest of the lineup pay for it, and Ekholm has built a reputation on doing exactly that. The Oilers do not have many places to hide in a playoff run, so value like this matters a lot more than the box score lets on.

The last day of group play had the kind of scoreboard-watching tension that makes bench bosses sweat and assistants pretend they are not doing math. Howard and Ekholm helped the United States and Sweden take care of business when the margin for error was gone, and that is the sort of pressure that separates survivors from luggage on the tournament floor. The quarterfinal picture is now set, and the teams that advanced did not get there by accident.