The Florida Panthers will be without top defenceman Aaron Ekblad until at least mid-November, and quite possibly longer, after the team putting him on the long-term injured reserve list with a groin injury.
Players on the LTIR list must miss at least 10 games and 24 days; the Panthers have 11 games in that 24-day window, so Ekblad is out for at least that many. He got hurt in Florida’s loss Monday at Boston.
“We’re not happy about it and obviously we’re concerned for him as a person first,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito said Wednesday. “But he’ll be back. It’s not a season-ending thing. There’s no reason to believe he won’t be back at anything other than 100 per cent.”
And even without their best defenceman, the Panthers have found ways to win consistently over the last two seasons when he’s not in the lineup. Florida has gone 31-10-1 in the 42 games Ekblad missed over that span. He already is working out in anticipation of his return, Zito said.
“It’s not an ideal situation to lose some of the key players from our team,” captain Aleksander Barkov said. “But at the same time, of course, you have to battle, not just for yourself but for the guy who’s missing. You have to battle for him as well, got to play for him.”
The Panthers recalled Matt Kiersted and Lucas Carlsson from their AHL affiliate in Charlotte, and they have veteran forward Eric Staal — who was in camp with Florida on a tryout contract — still skating with the team as a non-roster player. Zito said the the cap-crunched team will try to find a way to add Staal to the roster; his younger brother Marc Staal, a defenceman, is in his first year with the Panthers.
“Every single team in the NHL usually faces significant adversity,” coach Paul Maurice said. “It helps define them. We’re not shying away from this.”
Knee surgery sidelines Landeskog again
Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog will be sidelined about 12 weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said after morning skate Wednesday that Landeskog had the procedure performed in Minneapolis the day before. Landeskog missed the opening three games of this season with what the team described as a lower-body injury.
Landeskog sat out the final 23 regular-season games last season after undergoing knee surgery. He returned in time for the playoffs, where he had 11 goals and 11 assists to help the Avalanche win the franchise’s third Stanley Cup title.
The 29-year-old Landeskog is in his 12th NHL season and his 11th as captain of the Avalanche. He was the youngest captain in NHL history at the time he earned the role (19 years, 286 days) on Sept. 4, 2012. He held that distinction until Connor McDavid was named captain by the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 5, 2016, at 19 years, 266 days.
Muzzin battles neck injury
The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed veteran defenceman Jake Muzzin on injured reserve, the team announced Wednesday.
Muzzin, who missed the start of training camp with back discomfort and has a concussion history, will miss at least the next three games — Thursday at home against Dallas, Saturday in Winnipeg and Monday in Vegas.
The Leafs recalled defenceman Filip Kral from the American Hockey League in a corresponding move.
Toronto has dealt with a rash of injuries on its blue line to start the season. Jordie Benn (groin), Carl Dahlstrom (shoulder) and Timothy Liljegren (hernia) all started the schedule on long-term injured reserve.
Leafs goaltender Matt Murray (groin/abductor) joined the trio on LTIR over the weekend.
Ovechkin’s chase
Alex Ovechkin sits just 20 goals short of passing Gordie Howe’s mark of 801 for second on the NHL’s all-time goal list after scoring twice Monday against Vancouver.
The Washington Capitals sniper is also tied with Ted Lindsay for second all-time with 121 game-winning goals — 14 back of Jaromir Jagr.
Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record stands at 894.
Bedard blasts out of the gate
The presumptive No. 1 pick at the 2023 NHL draft, Connor Bedard has put up some gaudy numbers to start the Western Hockey League season.
The 17-year-old centre — he doesn’t turn 18 until after next June’s draft — was held off the scoresheet in the Regina Pats’ opener, but registered nine goals and 11 assists in 10 games since to lead the WHL in scoring.