Ekblad shakes off rust, leads Panthers into Game 5 against Capitals
Defenseman has 'played really well' after return from injury, coach says
© Getty Images
The Florida Panthers defenseman also has shaken off the rust after missing the final 20 games of the regular season and found his stride four games into the Eastern Conference First Round against the Washington Capitals. That's good news for the Panthers and bad news for the Capitals with the best-of-7 series tied 2-2 heading into Game 5 at FLA Live Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN360, TVAS, BSFL, NBCSWA).
Ekblad had two assists in Florida's 3-2 overtime victory in Game 4 on Monday, setting up Carter Verhaeghe's 2-on-1 goal that tied the score at 1-1 with 5:52 remaining in the first period, and Verhaeghe's goal 4:57 into overtime.
"It's hard to come right in and play at this level, but he's played really well," Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said Tuesday. "I thought last night was his best game. I thought he was feeling a little bit more up to the pace. I thought he was more active and being the 'Eky' that we know."
RELATED: [Complete Panthers vs. Capitals series coverage]
The Panthers have talked a lot about playing nervous in this series. Maybe too much.
Some of it might be from the pressure of being Stanley Cup favorites after winning the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL leader in points during the regular season. Some of it could be from trying to win Florida's first playoff series since 1996 with a lineup filled with players who never have advanced past the first round.
Ekblad's nerves were from jumping into Game 1 against Washington after not playing since being injured against the Anaheim Ducks on March 18. That came after Ekblad missed the playoffs last season with a fractured left leg.
Other than a four-game loss to the New York Islanders in the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers in the Toronto bubble, Ekblad hadn't experienced playoff hockey since a six-game defeat in the 2016 first round against the Islanders.
"I hadn't played a playoff game in five, six years," Ekblad said. "I was as nervous as I possibly could be coming off a six-week break and playing my first playoff game in that amount of time. No doubt a little bit of nerves. But I think those nerves have passed us by and we're in the fire of the fight now."
Before Ekblad was injured, he set NHL career-highs with 57 points and 42 assists in 61 games and was one away from his NHL career-high with 15 goals. It was unrealistic to think the 26-year-old immediately could play at that level in the playoffs, but he's gradually getting back to being the player that was among the favorites for the Norris Trophy, voted to the best defenseman in the NHL, prior to his injury.
"I think he seemed a little bit tentative," Brunette said. "It's really hard to be put in that position. For a player, that's probably the hardest thing to do, to miss that amount of time and then step into Game 1 of the playoffs against a battle-tested team. I think he's handled it phenomenally."
After being held without a point in the Panthers' 4-2 loss in Game 1, Ekblad scored their first goal in a 5-1 win in Game 2. Ekblad had an assist on Florida's lone goal in 6-1 loss in Game 3 before elevating his play in their critical Game 4 victory. Looking comfortable with Ben Chiarot as his defense partner for the first time, Ekblad played a game-high 27:51 with two shots on goal, seven shot attempts, one hit, two blocked shots, two takeaways and those two assists.
Ekblad led a 2-on-1 rush with Verhaeghe catching up on his left before making a perfect saucer pass over the stick of Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary to Verhaeghe for the tying goal. In overtime, Ekblad turned a neutral-zone turnover by Washington forward Connor McMichael into a quick counterattack with a pass up to Verhaeghe at the offensive blue line.
Verhaeghe did the rest, putting home his rebound to complete the Panthers' comeback from down 2-1 in the third period and even the series.
"He's a true warrior. He battles," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said of Ekblad. "Last year he was off for a long time and now he comes back and plays the way he's playing. He's been huge for us and we really like to see him doing that."
The expectations always have been high for Ekblad, who was selected with No. 1 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft and won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 2014-15. Now they are equally high for the Panthers, who have Stanley Cup aspirations. Ekblad is one of the players they'll need playing at his best to meet them.
"I think he competes so hard," Brunette said. "From the outside in, a lot of people don't know how hard he competes and how hard he wants to win, and he really showed that last night. I thought played a great game."
