Panthers get ‘positive sign’ as Aaron Ekblad returns to team activity ahead of playoffs
Ever since the day Aaron Ekblad’s regular season ended with a right knee injury last month, the Florida Panthers have remained hopeful their star defenseman would be able to return during the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The 26-year-old Canadian has taken a major step in the right direction this week.
Ekblad participated in the Panthers’ morning skate Tuesday before their 3-2, overtime win against the New York Islanders and Florida is hoping he will be able to ramp up his activity in the next two weeks before the Stanley Cup playoffs begin in the first days of May.
“I’m hoping we don’t have any setbacks and he continues to ramp up a little bit,” interim coach Andrew Brunette said Tuesday. “Hopefully, we start integrating him here in practice and day-to-day activities with the group.”
The Panthers (55-15-6) only have six games left in the regular season and can potentially clinch the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference on Thursday when they host the Detroit Red Wings at 7 p.m. at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise. There’s no need to try to rush back Ekblad, and Florida is hamstrung anyway — the Panthers placed the two-time All-Star on long-term injured reserve ahead of the deadline and activating him before the Cup playoffs would put Florida over the salary cap limit.
On April 7, Brunette said he was hoping Ekblad would be back by the first round of the playoffs — or the second round, at the latest — and the defenseman keeps hitting all the checkpoints necessary to make his return next month. Ekblad has been skating for more than a week and was also on the ice Monday when the Panthers practiced at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.
“He’s been skating the last week or so,” Brunette said.
Ekblad has missed more than a month since injuring his knee in the opening minutes of a win against the Anaheim Ducks last month. Although the injury prompted flashbacks to last season when Ekblad sustained a season-ending leg fracture in the final two months of the regular season, Florida quickly got positive news about this injury and quelled any concerns it would be as serious.
So far, the injury has only hurt Ekblad’s chances at winning the James Norris Memorial Trophy, as he was a contender with 15 goals and 57 points in 61 games before the injury. The Panthers’ defense struggled for a few games without its top defenseman, but Florida now ranks in the top 10 in goals against per game and can guarantee itself first place in the East by beating the Red Wings (30-37-10) and having the Toronto Maple Leafs lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
The Panthers insist they won’t rush back Ekblad and they should gain some extra flexibility by wrapping up the No. 1 seed in the conference and, theoretically, giving themselves a favorable first-round matchup. There likely won’t be any easy opening-round series in the East, though, with eight of the league’s top 12 teams in the conference.
Florida will be a first-round favorite with or without Ekblad, but the Panthers will want him healthy as they try to chase a Stanley Cup. Their goals go beyond these two weeks and the two after those.
“We have to be very conscious with him here a little bit. We don’t want to push him too hard,” Brunette said. “His body’ll tell him when he’s ready to go, but it was a positive sign to see him.”
