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After suffering an undisclosed injury on Tuesday, April 2, in the matchup between the Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens, Aaron Ekblad has been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season on Thursday, April 4.
Panthers’ head coach Paul Maurice told reporters the news in his pregame press conference on Thursday, ahead of Florida’s game against the Ottawa Senators, via NHL.com.
“This is not new and it’s not unknown to us,” Maurice said. “[Ekblad’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.”
Ekblad played just 7:16 minutes through 11 shifts, per Natural Stat Trick, against the Canadiens before leaving the game and being ruled out for the remainder of that contest.
According to Florida Panthers Sr. Digital Content Manager Jameson Olive, Ekblad “will likely miss (the) rest of the regular season.” Olive added that the Panthers are “quite confident” he’ll be 100% and ready for Game 1.”
Ekblad Suffered a Setback Just Three Games After Coming Back
Ekblad had missed all games played by Florida since March 9 when he suffered the initial injury that has kept him off the ice for the largest part of the past month.
He returned on March 28, but he only lasted three games and 7:16 minutes before getting shut down again on Thursday, April 4.
Ekblad suffered an undisclosed injury on Tuesday’s matchup against the Canadiens, as documented by Heavy. The Panthers lost 5-3 in Ekblad’s fourth game since returning from a two-week absence.
Maurice accepted the setback suffered by Ekblad following his return and the injury on a loaded late-season schedule.
“We’re gonna lose guys, I told you that two weeks ago,” Marucie told reporters after the game, via Florida Hockey Now. “We’re gonna lose bodies, we’re gonna get guys sick, we’re gonna get guys injured… it’s just the function of the schedule.”
With his chances of playing again before the playoffs very limited, Ekblad will probably close the year with 51 appearances in which he’s scored 4 goals and assisted 14 for 18 points.
Panthers Clinched But Still Fighting for Better Seeding
The Panthers have already clinched a postseason berth as one of the best teams across the league. Florida, however, has only been good to put up a 2-7-1 record in their last 10 games.
That’s hardly passable considering the team’s talent and the expectations heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Last year, the Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Finals with Ekblad as one of their main players and team leaders. Florida’s best defenseman logged nearly 24 minutes of ice time per game (23:57) through that postseason run in 20 games played.
The Panthers have already matched their regular-season tally from last season (99 points) this year by boasting an extraordinary 47-24-5 record in 76 games.
They face the Senators (70 points) tonight as they will try to close the gap with Atlantic Division leader Boston (103 points) trying to climb up the ladder and get a higher seed in the playoffs.
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