Florida Panthers' Aaron Ekblad, Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe were all on the receiving ends of hits or altercations with the Tampa Bay Lightning, exiting pre-season games early, but the trio were active at today's practice.
With the several injuries the Panthers are facing to their Selke Trophy-winning captain, Aleksander Barkov, and their power forward and 100-point scoring winger, Matthew Tkachuk, the Panthers need all the luck they can get in terms of player health.
In the final pre-season games against the Lightning, the atmosphere escalated and became very heated. It stemmed from the Panthers-Lightning first-round playoff series, which saw a major injury to Brandon Hagel, but prior to that, Hagel had taken a run at Barkov. The two teams strongly dislike each other, and they made it abundantly clear in what are often considered meaningless pre-season games.
Lundell exited the Panthers' 5-2 loss to the Lightning with an upper-body injury. He returned to practice on Oct. 2 but was held out of the lineup for the final pre-season contest on Oct. 4. The 24-year-old appears to be in line to skate in the Panthers' regular season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks tomorrow.
Ekblad was on the receiving end of a hit by Scott Sabourin, one that has earned him a hearing from the NHL's Department of Player Safety. The 29-year-old played just 41 seconds before leaving the game.
Verhaeghe played just 3:31 on Saturday. The 30-year-old laid a dangerous hit on Zemgus Girgensons, which forced him to leave the game.
Roman Schmidt was fined $2,098.52 for cross-checking Verhaeghe. Schmidt was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct.
Fortunately for the Panthers, after everything that occurred, they seem to be healthy and aren't facing any supplementary discipline from the NHL, which should allow them to ice the roster they choose against the Blackhawks.
It's going to be a busy day for Florida Panthers on eve of Opening Night
There will be quite a bit to keep track of in the world of the Florida Panthers on Monday.