Veteran Florida Panthers defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Dmitry Kulikov sustained injuries against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.
On Tuesday night, following their 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice provided dire updates to veteran defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Dmitry Kulikov.
Maurice mentioned that Ekblad and Kulikov will undergo X-Rays, with Kulikov expected to miss more time than Ekblad.
Ekblad took a puck to the hand late in the third period, and according to Maurice, it doesn’t look good.
Ekblad has skated in 72 games this season, scoring four goals and 26 points while averaging 22:29 of ice time. The 30-year-old has been one of the few players to be fortunate enough to avoid any long-term injury up until this point in the season, but it appears likely that his season is finished as well.
As for Kulikov, he missed a huge chunk of the season with a torn labrum and has only played 15 games since returning. Kulikov took a puck to the face against the Senators, and according to Jordan McPherson, he’ll undergo a CT scan.
In his 17 games of action, the 35-year-old failed to record any points, but averaged 17:56 of ice time. With the last eight games having little meaning, his season is almost guaranteed to be finished on the injured reserve.
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