As he faces former team, early returns have been positive for Ekman-Larsson with Panthers
When the Florida Panthers signed Oliver Ekman-Larsson to a one-year, $2.25 million deal this offseason, the transaction was seen as mutually beneficial for both sides.
For Ekman-Larsson, joining the Panthers was a chance for a restart after a rough two-year stint with the Vancouver Canucks, who bought out the final four years of his contract.
For the Panthers, adding Ekman-Larsson provided needed blue line depth with both Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour sidelined until at least mid-December while they recover from offseason shoulder surgery.
The early returns have indeed been beneficial for both sides.
And the signing is about to have the first full-circle moment of sorts for Ekman-Larsson on Saturday as the Panthers host the Canucks at Amerant Bank Arena to continue their first homestand of the season.
“It’s always special, right? Going against guys you battled on the ice with,” Ekman-Larsson said after practice Friday. “It is special and will feel a little weird. But when the game starts, all of that sort of goes away.”
Ekman-Larsson’s time with Vancouver did not go as either the player or the team planned. After logging just 29 points over 79 games in 2021-22, he broke his left foot in the offseason and re-injured the foot in February, limiting him to just 54 games last season.
“I feel a lot different,” he said. “I had since last February to prepare for this season, and I skated a lot this summer. It was nice to get that time to heal and focus on the things I needed to focus on.”
Ekman-Larsson has played big-time minutes for the Panthers through their first four games, working on the top defensive pairing with Gustav Forsling and running the top power-play unit.
He entered Saturday ranked third in the NHL in average ice time (25:31).
“You want to help the team win,” Ekman-Larsson said, “and I think it’s easier when you play a lot.”
Ekman-Larsson has points in each of his past two games, assisting on a power-play goal in Florida’s win over the New Jersey Devils and scoring his first goal with the Panthers in the waning seconds of the first period of Thursday’s 3-1 home-opening win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. His 11 shots on goal are fifth-most among Florida skaters and tops among the team’s defensemen. He is also second on the team with 10 blocked shots.
Over his career, 441 points (136 goals, 305 assists) in 906 games with the Coyotes, Canucks and Panthers.
“He is in good shape,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “He had a lot of months off and built off it. This guy is a good player, and everyone knew that. From being bought out, we could fit him in. But this guy is an elite player.”
Added Ekman-Larsson: “They have made it pretty easy on me to come in here and just be myself. I have been able to just have some fun with it.”
Ryan Lomberg gets penalty kill looks
Winger Ryan Lomberg is known for his tenacity, physicality and energy on the ice. It makes him the perfect player for a fourth-line role.
It’s also giving him a chance to get time on the penalty kill early this season.
“It’s something that I wanted to help with this year,” Lomberg said. “I want our team to have one of the better kills in the NHL and I want to be a part of it, so any time I’m out there, I’ll definitely looking to chip in how I can and then make sure we get the job done.”
Lomberg has the fifth-most shorthanded ice time among Florida forwards through four games, behind the team’s primary penalty killers in Kevin Stenlund, Eetu Luostarinen, Sam Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov.
Maurice’s hope is that Lomberg and Anton Lundell can become an effective third pairing for penalty kill purposes so that it can alleviate some of the minutes from Barkov and Reinhart.
“It’s like development, right?” Maurice said. “We have to find roles for players and then we have to give them the opportunity to expand those roles. ... but there also [needs to be] effectiveness. Lombo is going to block [and do] whatever he has to do. He’s going to hunt pucks down. He’s going to skate. You like to have a little variation in your penalty kill from kind of thinkers and position killers to guys that just put a lot of pressure on the puck.”
This story was originally published October 21, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
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