FORT LAUDERDALE – With the Florida Panthers about to embark on a two-game road trip, Niko Mikkola rejoined the main group during practice at Baptist Health IcePlex on Sunday.
“It’s huge,” captain Aleksander Barkov said. “His presence on the team, it’s great. Having him back, especially on the ice and seeing him out there, he’s a big piece of this team.”
Out of action for the first time since he joined the Panthers as a free agent in the summer of 2023, Mikkola has missed the last four games due to an upper-body injury that he suffered on Dec. 23 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
When asked if the hulking defenseman will be back in the lineup when the Panthers clash with the Colorado Avalanche on Monday, head coach Paul Maurice wasn’t ready to commit to his return just yet.
“Niko got through practice, so that’s a real positive,” he said. “We’ll see how he reacts.”
A 6-foot-6 pillar of power on the second pairing, Mikkola has taken his game to new heights this season, notching 14 points (four goals, 10 assists), 47 blocks and 53 hits in 36 games.
“He’s been outstanding on our blue line for us this year and has been able to bring that emotion every night,” Maurice said. “His intensity level is very, very high. He hasn’t had any type of fall off in his performance. He’s been able to pick it up. It’s been really impressive.”
With Mikkola on the ice, the Panthers have controlled 55.53% of expected goals at 5-on-5 this season.
EKBLAD UPDATE
Even with Mikkola back on the ice, the Panthers were still down a defenseman this morning.
Taking his last shift with 5:49 left in the third period of Friday’s 3-2 shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, Aaron Ekblad wasn’t well enough to participate in practice on Sunday.
“He’s dealing with something,” Maurice said.
Not getting into any specifics about the injury, Maurice did note that Ekblad, like Mikkola, could possibly take the ice against the Avalanche if he’s feeling good after morning skate.
A workhorse on the blue line, Ekblad leads the team in average ice time per game (23:31).
“It just cropped up,” Maurice said of Ekblad’s ailment.
UTAH BOUND
It’s always fun to visit a new city.
Getting their first look at the brad-new Utah Hockey Club, the Panthers will close out their trip with a matchup at Delta Center on Wednesday.
“It’s always nice to do that,” Barkov said. “Salt Lake, I heard it’s a nice city.”
In the midst of their inaugural campaign in the NHL, Utah entered the league this season after absorbing the hockey assets of the now-inactive Arizona Coyotes.
Finding some success in their new surroundings, Utah currently sits just three points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a record of 17-15-7.
“It’s going to be awesome,” forward Carter Verhaeghe said of the new experience. “They have good fans there, and I’ve heard it’s a good building to play in. It’s probably really exciting for that city to get an NHL team. I’ve never been to Utah, so it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
For any team, throwing something new into the mix of an 82-game grind is a treat.
“That’s why the Finland trip was so good for us,” Maurice said. “It’s something completely different for our team. We really like those unique experiences just to break up the monotony of an NHL season. Everyone is excited.”
A national broadcast, the game will air on TNT, truTV and Max.
SUNDAY’S PRACTICE LINES
Forwards
Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Eetu Luostarinen – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Carter Verhaeghe – Anton Lundell – Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer – Tomas Nosek – Mackie Samoskevich
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Dmitry Kulikov
Niko Mikkola – Uvis Balinskis
Nate Schmidt – Adam Boqvist
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight
