Brewin Flames Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Florida Panthers hang on to beat Stars after Aaron Ekblad goes down with scary leg injury David Wilson, Miami Herald 9 hrs ago Aaron Ekblad knew as soon as he landed something was wrong. The defenseman landed awkwardly on his left leg after taking a hit from Esa Lindell against the boards at American Airlines Arena and immediately grabbed at his left knee when he crumpled to the ground. He pounded the ice and summoned for help. At least half a dozen of his teammates surrounded him when he finally left the ice on a stretcher. The Panthers’ injury list continues to grow and the latest addition seems to be the most serious and Florida struggled to regroup after Ekblad went down. After they jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period by piling up 14 shots, the Panthers managed just four in the second, although three did come after Ekblad’s injury. Dallas ultimately outshot Florida, 34-23, as the Panthers just tried to survive and escape with another victory in Texas after a deflating injury. Ekblad left with 11:02 left in the second period after a routine check turned into a nightmare scenario for Florida. The Panthers, who are already playing without star forwards Aleksander Barkov and Patric Hornqvist, now might be missing their best defenseman for an extended period of time. Florida did not provide an immediate update on Ekblad’s status. Play stopped for more than five minutes while trainers attended to Ekblad, wrapped his knee in a cast and carried him off on a stretcher inside of a near-silent arena. Ekblad’s injury came just a day after he played the hero in the Panthers’ overtime win against the Stars on Saturday. The 25-year-old scored an apparent game-winning goal in the final minute of overtime, only to have it wiped out because he was offsides. Less than a minute later, he actually scored with 9.3 seconds left to snap Florida’s season-long three-game losing streak. On Sunday, Ekblad assisted All-Star left wing Jonathan Huberdeau on a goal in the first period for his 22nd point of the season — fifth most on the team. With 11 goals and 11 assists, Ekblad thrust himself into contention for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s top defenseman. With Ekblad sidelined, Riley Stillman moved into his spot next fellow defenseman MacKenzie Weegar on the Panthers’ top defensive pairing. Ekblad’s injury left Florida without three of its top five scorers — Barkov missed his fourth straight game with a lower-body injury and Hornqvist missed his second straight with an undisclosed injury — and the Panthers managed just eight shots after he left. Huberdeau’s best performance in weeks helped Florida survive. The All-Star left wing scored twice in the first period to bust out of a weeks-long slump and push the Panthers out to a 3-1 lead, then he assisted on right wing Owen Tippett’s empty-net goal with 1:05 left to clinch the win. Huberdeau, who hadn’t posted a multi-point game since March 15 and hadn’t scored a goal since March 18, scored once at even strength to give Florida a 1-0 lead, then on a power play with 6:23 left in the period to put the Panthers ahead 3-1. The forward had just one goal in Florida’s previous 11 games before he scored twice in the first 14 minutes. “I’ve got to shoot a little bit more,” Huberdeau told Fox Sports Florida, “so I did the first and it went in.” Winger Anthony Duclair also scored on a penalty shot in the first period and the Panthers played most of the game with a two-goal lead. It was enough for Chris Driedger. The goaltender made 33 saves on 34 shots to seal a second straight win and move the Panthers back within one point of the second-place Carolina Hurricanes in the Central Division. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 29, 2021 Author Share Posted March 29, 2021 The video is tough to watch and he was having a great year stat wise...speedy recovery and well wishes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 1 minute ago, Brewin Flames said: The video is tough to watch and he was having a great year stat wise...speedy recovery and well wishes. Yeah hard to watch. Hard to tell it could be the lower leg or just the ankle or the way the knee twist every ligament in his knee. Just a crazy way to get caught up and fall. I am praying the kid isn't hurt that bad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 29, 2021 Author Share Posted March 29, 2021 Me thinks, this is at least season ending, so i'm guessing panthers may be in the hunt for a d-man at trade deadline day....they are in playoff contention and losing ekblad is huge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 5 minutes ago, Brewin Flames said: Me thinks, this is at least season ending, so i'm guessing panthers may be in the hunt for a d-man at trade deadline day....they are in playoff contention and losing ekblad is huge. I know he is no where near the quality of Ek but if I'm the Flyers I am trying to move Braun to them if they like. He is a right hand shot so maybe he would interest them. But they may have better options now maybe go hard after Savard who is a right hand shot too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Imagine a girl walking and jumping on your balls with high needle-shaped heels: Watching Ekblad's knee was more painful than this. Seems like season-ending injury and certainly a part of next season as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Awful injury to a critical part of one of the leagues Cinderella story. Just awful. He is as close to irreplaceable as anyone in the game. Cats have tons of cap space but Ekblad after years of starts and stops due to concussion issues has finally put it all together and become the complete defenseman that the Panthers envisioned when they drafted him number one years ago. There goes the season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 Broken leg, 3 months out. Ok, the season is definitely over for him and this will look weird but it's way better to have your leg broken than a nasty ligament damage. The recovery is shorter and usually you get back ok at 100%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 30 minutes ago, Math said: Broken leg, 3 months out. Ok, the season is definitely over for him and this will look weird but it's way better to have your leg broken than a nasty ligament damage. The recovery is shorter and usually you get back ok at 100%. Sad to hear. So no ligament damage? I know it's hard to think this but that is lucky it looked bad. Aaron Ekblad @Ekblad5FLA Thank you @DallasStars for everything last night. I’m so grateful for your help. To everyone who has reached out, I see you. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 There's a ton of centres in Florida and the Wild might be willing to part with Dumba. I wonder if there would be interest in the Wild and the Cats in a trade involving Verhaeghe and Dumba. Dumba is a solid defenseman with a lot of offense and a good character, and Verhaeghe... Could he fill some of the void the Wild has in the centre department, possibly fill in as a 2C? 1 million for Verh. vs. 6 for Dumba. That would mean a lot of wheeling, dealing and thinking to make it work. Just thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted March 31, 2021 Author Share Posted March 31, 2021 I wonder if the cats will claim Ghost from the flyers.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 2 hours ago, Brewin Flames said: I wonder if the cats will claim Ghost from the flyers.... Caphit 4.5 millions and the troubles in Flyers says no, but on the other hand they have the space. Perhaps Quenneville sees something we don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 5 hours ago, Brewin Flames said: I wonder if the cats will claim Ghost from the flyers.... no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FD19372 Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 (edited) 5 hours ago, Brewin Flames said: I wonder if the cats will claim Ghost from the flyers.... Hopefully. I don't want him back. Almost sprained my neck, reading your first post in this thread. Edited March 31, 2021 by FD19372 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 26 minutes ago, FD19372 said: Hopefully. I don't want him back. Almost sprained my neck, reading your first post in this thread. I guess you missed the post right above yours?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FD19372 Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 4 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said: I guess you missed the post right above yours?? Nope, I didn't. The Panthers aren't claiming him. He'll be an Oiler or Blue, soon..I hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 4 minutes ago, FD19372 said: He'll be an Oiler or Blue They don't have the cap space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FD19372 Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 3 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said: They don't have the cap space. If they can't get anything for him, I don't want him back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 Just now, FD19372 said: If they can't get anything for him, I don't want him back. Well they could assign him to the Phantoms or the taxi squad or he could even play tonight. We'll see soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FD19372 Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 Maybe Vegas...do they need a depth defenseman? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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