Ekblad finished with an assist while playing 21:33 in his first game action since April 2

BodyThe Florida Panthers received a big boost when defenseman Aaron Ekblad took the ice for Game 1 of their opening round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Ekblad missed the final six games of the regular season after suffering an injury during Florida’s 5-3 loss in Montreal on April 2.

But that came just four games after Ekblad returned from a lower-body injury that kept him out for nearly three weeks.

“It was really good,” Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said of Ekblad’s effort in Game 1. “He looked like he did in practice all week. We could have played them in the last Toronto game, it's just because he sat out for a long time, came back off an injury, played a few more games, went out again, and I was just like we're not doing this again. We're going to keep him healthy.”

Ekblad skated on a pairing with his usual defensive partner Gus Forsling.

He played 21:33 of ice time during Florida’s 3-2 victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday, logging an assist and a plus-2 on-ice rating.

Ekblad finished with one shot on two attempts, handed out five hits and blocked four Lightning shots.

It was a strong showing from Ekblad, especially when considering he’d played only four games over the final five weeks of the season.

“I thought his gap was good, he moved the puck when he needed to, and he was really smart about the way he played,” Maurice said.

Now it will just be a matter of shaking off any rust and getting back to a his usual level of comfort.

For Ekblad, that shouldn’t be very difficult.

The veteran defenseman has proven over the past several years to be one of the most consistent, reliable players on Florida’s blueline.

“He needs to get some games in until you’ll see him popping into the holes and getting up the ice and pulling it across the line,” Maurice said. “But I thought he played a very smart game.”

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