Panthers’ Aaron Ekblad Likely Out For Remainder of Regular Season, Expected to Return For Playoffs
The Florida Panthers are preparing to be without All-Star defenceman Aaron Ekblad for the rest of the 2023-24 season, head coach Paul Maurice revealed Thursday. But they believe he will be ready for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Ekblad suffered an undisclosed injury during Tuesday’s affair versus the Montreal Canadiens. He left the game after just 7:16 of ice time following a skirmish with forward Juraj Slafkovsky late in the opening frame.
The 28-year-old blueliner was participating in his fourth game since returning to the lineup on March 28th after missing the previous two weeks with a lower-body injury.
“I don’t think he plays the rest of the regular season,” Maurice told reporters on Thursday. “But we are quite confident that he’s 100% and ready to go by the first game [of the playoffs].”
“This is not new and it’s not unknown to us. He’s got a real good handle on how long it’s going to take and he’s progressing really well today from it, so we’re getting there. We’re going to miss him.”
Carter Verhaeghe, who suffered an upper-body injury in Monday’s loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, may also miss the remainder of the regular season but should be available for the playoffs.
Florida’s top-pairing defenceman recorded one shot on goal and a blocked shot prior to exiting the contest, finishing as a plus-one despite his early departure. He has already missed 26 games this season due to injury.
Ekblad and Slafkovsky locked arms before collapsing to the ice in a post-whistle scrum with just 30 seconds remaining in the first period. The pair wrestled on the rink’s surface for several moments until being separated by officials.
The Panthers’ 2014 first-overall selection didn’t return for the start of the second period and was later ruled out, per a team announcement.
Amidst an injury-plagued 2023-24 campaign, Ekblad’s 10th NHL season will conclude after just 51 games, the fewest of his career in a single season, excluding the 2020-21 campaign. He finishes with four goals and 18 points while averaging 20:52 per night, also a career low.
The Windsor, ON native had a late start to the season, missing the first 16 games while recovering from off-season shoulder surgery, addressing an ailment that stemmed from the club’s previous postseason run to the Stanley Cup Final.
Ekblad posted 14 goals and 38 points across 71 regular-season games in 2022-23 and emerged as one of Florida’s top performers in the playoffs. In 20 games, he scored two goals and nine points while registering 29 blocks and 36 hits over 23:57 per night.
Josh Mahura drew into the lineup during Thursday’s matchup against the Ottawa Senators in Ekblad’s absence, where he recorded a secondary assist on Sam Bennett’s second-period marker in a 6-0 victory. He also delivered two hits and four blocked shots while playing 15:28 a night ago.
Earlier this week, the Panthers recalled defenseman Uvis Balinkskis from AHL Charlotte as insurance.
The good news is Florida has already clinched a postseason spot as they currently sit second in the Atlantic Division heading into Friday’s slate, trailing the Boston Bruins by four points for the division lead.
With only five games remaining, the Panthers appeared destined for a first-round matchup versus either the Maple Leafs – which would be a rematch of last year’s second-round tilt – or the Tampa Bay Lightning.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Jenn G. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.