Florida Panthers’ Aaron Ekblad day-to-day with lower-body injury

The Florida Panthers have announced that defenseman Aaron Ekblad will miss Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

It’s unclear as to what caused the injury, as Ekblad, 28, played the entirety of Thursday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, including a shift with less than three minutes remaining in the third period. The Panthers next game after Saturday isn’t until Tuesday, so it’s possible that they wanted to give the Windsor, Ontario product an extended break.

Ekblad has struggled a bit this season when healthy, as he has just 3 goals and 11 assists for 14 points in 37 games. Assuming he’s only kept out of Saturday’s game, he’s on pace for 24 points, which would be his lowest point total in a non-shortened season since 2016-17.

Despite Ekblad’s struggles offensively, he still remains one of the league’s best defenders on the penalty kill. Since 2022-23, his 3.5 shorthanded goals above replacement is tied for fifth in the league amongst defensemen.

Ekblad was the first-overall pick of the Panthers in the 2014 NHL Draft, making his NHL debut the following season and winning the Calder Trophy in 2015. He’s currently in his 10th season in the NHL, and has spent the entirety of his career with Florida.

Ekblad is currently in the seventh year of an eight-year contract with a $7.5 million cap hit, and will be eligible to sign a new contract extension with the Panthers after July 1st.

Josh Mahura will draw into the lineup in Ekblad’s place, which will be his first game in almost a month. Mahura has five assists in 19 games this season.

The Panthers currently sit in first in the Atlantic Division with a 35-15-4 record. They will look to extend their four-game winning streak when they visit Tampa Bay on Saturday at 5 p.m. EST.