Aaron Ekblad is expected to be out “for an extensive time,” according to Florida Panthers coach Joel Quenneville, after the defenseman left the ice on a stretcher with an apparent leg injury in the second period of a 4-1 win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Sunday.
Ekblad got his left leg caught under his body after being checked by Stars defenseman Esa Lindell midway through the second and immediately clutched his left knee. He left on a stretcher after medical personnel put a long brace on his left leg.
Ekblad was scheduled to fly back to South Florida with his teammates and have further tests Monday.
“It was pretty tough,” Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau said. “It’s obviously tough to see a teammate, a good friend, go down like that. He was and he’s probably going to be out for a while. It’s not cool obviously, but it’s part of the game.
“You hear him scream too. I mean, it must have hurt so bad. Obviously, it comes and gets you. He’s a great guy, a great teammate. It [stinks]. It’s part of the game, a bad break. It’s going to be tough to be without him, but we’re going to be there for him. We’re going to support him.”
Ekblad has scored 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) in 35 games and leads the Panthers by averaging 25:05 of ice time per game. He had an assist to help Florida build a 3-1 lead at the time of his injury.
“I think he was great this year,” Quenneville said. “I think he had so many games where he was dominant defensively, but his offensive contribution, joining the attack down, added a different dimension to our power play, significant minutes, matchups, controlling the outcomes of games, you couldn’t ask for anything more. He’s improved. He stepped up this year in his development and has been a big factor.”
The Panthers (22-9-4) swept a two-game set at Dallas and are third in the Discover Central Division, one point back of the Carolina Hurricanes and two behind the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning.
The top four teams in each division will qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“Right now’s not the day to get excited, [but] at the same time I still think there’s a group here that has the ability to find ways to win hockey games,” Quenneville said. “We need to find out what it’s like to win in the playoffs, and that acquired taste is something we’ve got to earn to acquire and to learn how to handle it. We need to get that lesson and we look forward to finding out as best we can.”