FORT LAUDERDALE – The Florida Panthers are going to get some well-earned time to refresh and recharge before embarking on a tough 14-game stretch into the playoffs.
Heading into their break on the heels of losses to the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning – their first consecutive defeats since Jan. 17-19 – the Panthers (45-19-5) still sit just one point behind the Boston Bruins for first in the Atlantic Division with a game in hand.
“It’s a huge break for us,” defenseman Niko Mikkola said after Monday’s practice at the Baptist Health IcePlex. “We get a little mental break right now and some good practices before the game. It’s going to be a tough stretch. … It’s nice to have a couple days off.”
Coming off a tough 5-3 loss against Tampa Bay on Saturday at Amerant Bank Arena, the Panthers led 50-16 in shots on goal but just couldn’t get enough past Andrei Vasilevskiy.
While they’ve been one of the top teams in the NHL all season, the Panthers still believe there’s a few parts of their game they can polish and improve before the playoffs begin.
And with less than a month until the regular season ends, that work starts now.
“We need to clean up a couple of the mistakes we’ve made the over the last two games, but the game is there,” Mikkola said. “We just need to keep working like we have been all year long.”
Following this four-day stretch of no games, the Panthers will jump right back into the gauntlet with 10 games in 17 days against numerous teams with playoff aspirations.
On Thursday, the Nashville Predators (39-25-4) will come to Amerant Bank Arena for the first-ever White Out Night. After that, the Panthers will then hit the road for big-time Eastern Conference battles with the New York Rangers (45-15-9) and Philadelphia Flyers (34-26-8).
But for a team with championship aspirations, these are the games they want to play.
“I think it’s good,” said defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. “To play meaningful and hard games going into playoffs, that’s what we want and that’s going to benefit us.”
EKBLAD ON TRACK
Aaron Ekblad hit the ice prior to today’s practice.
Sidelined since sustaining a lower-body injury against Calgary on March 9, the 28-year-old defenseman was spotted in a track suit getting in some work with skills coach Max Ivanov.
If all goes well, he should be on track to return toward the end of the month.
“The two-week idea would be the Rangers game (March 23) and then some block of time after that,” Maurice said. “If he continues, we’ll move him to day-to-day from that time on.”
Averaging more than 21 minutes of ice time per game alongside Gustav Forsling on the top pairing, Ekblad has logged 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) and a +26 rating in 47 contests.
When he’s on the ice at 5-on-5, the Panthers also control 58.04% of all shot attempts.
OTHER INJURY UPDATES
The Panthers had a few other players missing from today’s practice.
Aleksander Barkov and Evan Rodrigues both didn’t skate, while Matthew Tkachuk left practice early after getting tripped up during a drill and skating off in some discomfort.
Sergei Bobrovsky also missed practice due to an illness.
Maurice said he doesn’t expect any of the four players to miss any actual games.
“They were as good today as they were going into the [last] game,” he said. “We’re just taking this block of time to try to get him to 100%. They could practice full without much of a concern, but it just wouldn’t heal. They’re fine.”
After missing the last game due to an illness, Anthony Stolarz returned to practice.
BJORNFOT A POSSIBILITY
With the news coming down this afternoon that Dmitry Kulikov has been suspended two games by the NHL for an elbowing penalty during Saturday’s game against Tampa Bay, the Panthers could potentially turn to 22-year-old defenseman Tobias Björnfot in his absence.
“We’ll talk about that,” Maurice said when asked about the team’s options on the blue line.
Claimed off the waiver wire from Vegas on March 8, Björnfot, a first-round pick in 2019, has appeared in 119 career NHL games between Los Angeles (2019-20 to 2023-24) and Vegas (2023-24), accumulating 15 points (one goal, 14 assists), 103 hits and 108 blocked shots.
He last suited up in an NHL game with the Golden Knights on Jan. 10.
When asked about how the team’s new defenseman has been fitting in since being claimed, Maurice said that he’s essentially been going through his own personal training camp while trying to get caught up to speed with Florida’s unique system and style.
“I think there’s bigger adjustments for a defenseman to make in the system that we run than a forward has to make,” Maurice said. “It’s all video. It’s all watching the games, get into practice, get into the rhythm and get comfortable.”
Stay tuned for more lineup news in the coming days.
