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.

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.

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

Cody Ceci and Will Smith scored for the Sharks (14-32-6), who have lost six straight and nine of ten. Alexandar Georgiev allowed four goals on 15 shots before being pulled early in the second period for Yaroslav Askarov, who stopped 14 of 17 shots in relief.

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.

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.

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 Tkachuk had a goal and ...

Never a huge goal-scorer, Granlund is on pace to hit 20 for the third time in his 13-year career and the first since 2017-18 with Minnesota. But the 32-year-old has been a point producer with the Sharks. He’s leading the team with 44 points in 51 contests after a scoring a team-high 60 points in 69 games last season.

Call it a mixed bag for the Florida Panthers on their West Coast trip. The Panthers went 2-2-0 in their four games out west, beating the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 on Tuesday, falling to the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 on Wednesday, winning against the San Jose Sharks 7-2 on Saturday and losing to the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 on Sunday.

The Golden Knights’ past 10 games haven’t been their best. Luck hasn’t been on their side. The bounces haven’t gone their way. Yet they remained confident they could overcome their slide. A 4-1 win over the Florida Panthers at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday night might be a good first step in the right direction.

San Jose Sharks, after being flattened by the Florida Panthers, face Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday

The slumping Vegas Golden Knights begin their final homestand before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off when they host the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Sunday in Las Vegas. Both teams enter the contest one point out of first place in their respective divisions.