Panthers forward Sam Reinhart speaks after practice on March 11. There was a sense of excitement around the Florida Panthers when they hit the ice for practice on Monday ahead of their upcoming road trip. It was the first full team practice since the NHL Trade Deadline, and there were several new faces that weren’t with the Cats at this time last week. Forwards Vladimir Tarasenko and Kyle Okposo and defenseman Tobias Bjornfot were full participants at the Baptist Health IcePlex as the Panthers skated after taking Sunday off following Saturday’s 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjE3OTM2NjIzMjQ4NDky/img_6014.jpg] Several players did not practice, though, after suffering injuries during the victory. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad and forward Evan Rodrigues left Saturday’s game with respective lower-body ailments and were not on the ice Monday. Top line center Sasha Barkov was also not present at practice. Afterwards, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice explained that Ekblad would be out for at least the next two weeks, after which they would just go day by day based off how he’s feeling. Maurice stressed that there was no rush to get Ekblad back into the Panthers lineup, which makes sense. Florida has been incredibly consistent over the past several months, sitting at the top of the NHL standings, where they’ve remained for the past couple weeks. “There is nothing sinister (with the injury), nothing that we think will linger beyond a normal window,” Maurice said. “But the qualifier I’m putting on there is that we’re not going to bring him back early, and that’s why this might take a little longer. “We’re going to wait until he’s 100%. I expect him back…I’m going to be shooting for the end of March or early April.” Maurice added that while Barkov didn’t skate Monday, he was expected to play on Tuesday against the Dallas Stars, and that Rodrigues would be a game-time decision. Steven Lorentz filled in for Barkov on Florida’s top line with Tarasenko and Sam Reinhart. Okposo took Rodrigues’ spot on the right side of the third line, beside Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen. Oliver Ekman-Larsson moved up to the top pairing with Gus Forsling in Ekblad’s absence, reuniting a duo that skated together for the first 16 games of the season while Ekblad was recovering from offseason surgery. “You’re gonna miss Aaron Ekblad, but everybody has to deal with their injuries,” Maurice said. “We’ve done it before. We have some continuity on our blueline because of what we went through earlier in the year.” Moving into OEL’s spot next to Dmitry Kulikov was Josh Mahura. Also practicing Monday and skating as extras were forward Jonah Gadjovich and defenseman Tobias Bjornfot, who Florida claimed off waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday. After practice, Florida packed up their gear and headed to the airport to catch a flight to Dallas. The Panthers and the Stars will face off on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET. From American Airlines Center. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA THN Archive: Panthers ownership, management has team in excellent shape [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/thn-archive-panthers-ownership-management-has-team-in-excellent-shape] Getting to know Goldie: Q&A with Florida Panthers play-by-play voice Steve Goldstein [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/getting-to-know-goldie-q-a-with-florida-panthers-play-by-play-voice-steve-goldstein] Three takeaways: Tarasenko mades his presence felt in 5-1 win over Calgary [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-tarasenko-mades-his-presence-felt-in-5-1-win-over-calgary] Florida uses second period push to pull away from Flames [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/.preview/cn02d7f8638000255a?auth=1710140586:fee39ddb897da04201b9413aa067593fc20c9bd1&nonce=1710054186239] Five Favorites: Nick Cousins uses 'mental grind' of playing golf to help him on the ice [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/.preview/cn02d7bd583000255a?auth=1710140512:ac282a27dd71dc686518fbe315d8b4f910738f08&nonce=1710054112220] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]
