As Tarasenko returns, a look at how he helped Panthers on Cup run. Plus the latest on Ekblad
As much as the Florida Panthers try to stay in the present while they attempt to defend their Stanley Cup championship, consistent reminders of last season’s accomplishment are always around them.
At various points throughout the season, that comes in the form of the matchups against former teammates who were integral in Florida completing its championship run.
The latest of those matchups comes Thursday when the Panthers host Vladimir Tarasenko and the Detroit Red Wings.
The Panthers acquired Tarasenko from the Ottawa Senators at the trade deadline last season to add depth to their forward group as well as a veteran presence who had already been where the Panthers were trying to go. Tarasenko already had one Stanley Cup win under his belt, winning it all with the St. Louis Blues in 2019.
“There is a piece of experience that you get from winning the last game,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said, “and you can share that with the people around you.”
Tarasenko did just that.
In addition to contributing to big moments on the ice — he had 14 points in 19 regular-season games with the Panthers and five goals in the playoffs (including two in the seven-game Cup Final series against the Edmonton Oilers) — some of Tarasenko’s biggest contributions came off the ice. He became a mentor of sorts to forwards Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen, whom he played the majority of his time with.
“Vladdy loves the game,” Maurice said. “He likes to talk hockey. He’s completely immersed in it. We moved him around a bunch of different places, and then he found his home with Luostarinen and Lundell and just was constantly on the bench talking about plays. It was great for those two guys to have a veteran player who’s really, really high hockey IQ. Engaged them in the game, and then he sort of pretty big goals for us.”
Added Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov: “He was important for us. Obviously, he’s been in the Cup Final and won the Cup. He brought that to us, that veteran leadership. He worked really hard. It was fun to watch him in practice and the games, like how hard he chased the puck, how hard he works still. Just an unbelievable teammate. He brought everything to us.”
Now, Tarasenko is trying to bring everything he can to the Red Wings, who he signed a two-year, $9.5 million deal with this offseason and who had a season-long seven-game win streak snapped on Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks. In that San Jose game, though, Tarasenko scored two goals, his first multi-goal game of the season and his first goals since Dec. 1.
“He has had the puck on his tape a fair amount, and he has had looks at the net,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said. “A lot of what he was taking was either blocked or deflected, not quite getting there. Those two shots [against San Jose] were lasers. They were quickly released. They were he knew where he was shooting. I don’t know even know if he picked the spot, but he shot to an area, and I think that’s what really good scorers do. If you have time, you pick your spot. If you don’t have time, you shoot to an area and and you get it off quick enough so that the goalie has to do the job. And Vlad, he did that the other night. I thought that was perhaps his best game since I’ve been here. We tried to get him on the ice a little bit more to reward him for that, so hopefully it carries over.”
Latest on Aaron Ekblad
Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad is out for the fifth time in the past six games while continuing to deal with an undisclosed injury he sustained on Jan. 3 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Maurice said after the team’s morning skate on Thursday that if Ekblad doesn’t play on Saturday against the Anaheim Ducks to cap this quick two-game homestand that the expectation is for the defenseman to be ready for Florida’s upcoming four-game West Coast trip that starts Tuesday against the Ducks.
“I don’t think we’re very far off,” Maurice said. “We’re feeling fairly confident right now he plays on the road trip, hopefully the first game of the road trip, but he’s not far off.”
In the meantime, the Panthers will continue to roll with the defense pairings they have used in his absence.
Dmitry Kulikov is on the top pairing in Ekblad’s place with Gustav Forsling. Niko Mikkola and Nate Schmidt for the second paring. Tobias Bjornfot and Uvis Balinskis round out the group.
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