Panthers set to receive another lineup boost as Aaron Ekblad returns from suspension
The Florida Panthers already received a significant boost ahead of their first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series against the Tampa Bay Lightning when star winger Matthew Tkachuk returned to the lineup for Game 1 on Tuesday.
They’re set to get another key contributor back on Saturday.
Top-pairing defenseman Aaron Ekblad will return to the Panthers’ lineup for Game 3 against the Lightning after serving out his 20-game suspension that was handed to him for violating the terms of the NHL and NHLPA performance enhancing substances program. Ekblad last played for Florida on March 8.
“Big thing, for sure,” defenseman Niko Mikkola said. “On the ice, he’s a great player. He’s been a part of the group for a long time. In the locker room, he’s a loud guy and big character. It’s great to have him back.”
Ekblad, in the final year of an eight-year, $60 million contract, is the longest-tenured defenseman in franchise history, holding records for games played (732), goals (118), assists (262) and points (380) among Panthers blueliners.
He finished the regular season with 33 points (three goals, 30 assists) in 56 games played this season. He was part of Florida’s top defense pairing with Gustav Forsling. Ekblad missed eight games in a nine-game stretch in January because of an upper-body injury. He has missed at least 11 games each of the past four seasons due to various injuries.
At the time of his suspension, Ekblad called the news “a shock” but admitted he “made a mistake by taking something to help me recover from recent injuries without first checking with proper medical and team personnel.”
“I have let my teammates, the Panthers organization and our great fans down. For that, I am truly sorry,” Ekblad said in a statement released by the NHLPA. “I have accepted responsibility for my mistake and will be fully prepared to return to my team when my suspension is over. I have learned a hard lesson and cannot wait to be back with my teammates.”
That time has come, but not without the time to reflect.
Ekblad had to remain away from the team for the first four weeks of the suspension, not allowed to rejoin team activities until April 11. Since the suspension was handed out with only 18 regular-season games left on the schedule, Ekblad also had to miss Florida’s first two playoff games against the Lightning — “the toughest two games to miss,” Ekblad said.”
“I’m just going to try and keep myself in as best shape as I can so that one Game 3 rolls around, it’s easy for me to come back in,” Ekblad said. “It’s not the first time that I’ve stepped into the playoffs cold, after injuries even, so I’m confident that I’ll be fine coming into it, but those two games would be very tough to watch, for sure.”
The Panthers won those first two games, beating the Lightning 6-2 on Tuesday and 2-0 on Thursday to take a commanding lead in the best-of-7 series.
And now, their blueline is at full strength for the remainder of the series.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Ekblad will slide back into all of his normal responsibilities immediately. That includes being on the top defense pairing with Gustav Forsling and playing on both the power play and penalty kill.
“It’s a very unusual situation,” Maurice said of Ekblad’s return. “Usually, a player that’s out for 20 games has significant injury, and that really affects their rehab. I would say that Aaron’s probably in the best shape of his life right now. We’ll put him right back with his partner.”
Added Ekblad: “It’s a ton of rest. My body hasn’t felt this good since coming into Game 1 of the season. It’s almost like a mini training camp. It’s the best I’ve felt in a while, for sure.”
Ekblad’s absence to close out the regular season did, however, give Maurice the chance to experiment with his defense pairings. He rotated players around throughout the final month-plus of the season to see who has chemistry and who doesn’t in case a situation arises where moves need to be made.
“We have a lot of good defensemen here, and everyone can step up and play bigger minutes and bigger roles,” Forsling said. “That’s kind of what you need. There’s going to be injuries during the season and especially playoffs. We’ve got some confidence, and everyone can play.”
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