Defenseman Aaron Ekblad had a goal and an assist in his return from an upper-body injury and the Florida Panthers routed the San Jose Sharks 7-2 on Saturday night

During the past three seasons, Forsling and Ekblad are one of 13 defense pairings who have played more than 2,000 minutes together at 5-on-5. Among those 13 defense pairings, Forsling and Ekblad are among the league’s best in multiple key categories, according to the advanced hockey statistics website Natural Stat Trick. Among those...

The Panthers, who have won four of their last six, erased an early one-goal deficit with six unanswered goals to coast past the host San Jose Sharks.

After missing each of the last seven games, top-pair defenseman Aaron Ekblad will return to the blue line for the Florida Panthers when they face-off against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday.

The Florida Panthers lost defenseman Adam Boqvist on Friday when the defenseman was claimed by the New York Islanders off NHL waivers. Boqvist, 24, only played 18 games for the Panthers this season and none since Jan.

The Florida Panthers are set to bolster their blue line with the return of defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who has missed the past seven games due to an upper-body injury.

On Sunday, Florida sent blueliner Tobias Bjornfot to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers following Aaron Ekblad’s return from injury. That left seven defensemen on the Panthers roster: Ekblad, Gus Forsling, Niko Mikkola, Dmitry Kulikov, Nate Schmidt, Uvis Balinskis and Adam Boqvist.

Ekblad (upper body) skated before Monday's practice and felt better than he thought he would, per Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site. Ekblad has missed the last five games, and it remains unclear if he will play against Anaheim on Tuesday.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Defenseman Aaron Ekblad had a goal and an assist in his return from an upper-body injury and the Florida Panthers routed the San Jose Sharks 7-2 on Saturday night. Matthew ...

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Defenseman Aaron Ekblad had a goal and an assist in his return from an upper-body injury and the Florida Panthers routed the San Jose Sharks 7-2 on Saturday night.

A crucial piece on the blue line, Ekblad, despite missing time due to his injury, still leads Florida’s defensemen in both assists (18) and points (20). He also ranks third in hits (59) and blocked shots (56), while averaging a team-leading 23:32 of ice time per contest.

Florida stumbled out of the gate on Saturday in San Jose, but once they snapped into form it was off to the races