Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Concussions force Ekblad, Malgin out
Both players sidelined for 7 to 10 days
CORAL SPRINGS — Florida Panthers general manager and interim coach Tom Rowe said both defenseman Aaron Ekblad and forward Denis Malgin are expected to be out for 7-10 days after they suffered concussions during Saturday’s 3-2 loss in Tampa Bay.
Ekblad exited Saturday’s game early in the second period after absorbing a high hit by the Lightning’s Gabriel Dumont along the corner boards. With Ekblad sidelined, the Panthers recalled 23-year-old MacKenzie Weegar from Springfield on Monday morning.
“We’re just going to take it day-by-day, see how [Ekblad] progresses,” Rowe said. “Talked with him today, said he felt pretty good but definitely not ready to go back in the lineup.”
Rowe said that Malgin, 20, was “a little foggy,” but it did not seem to be a major injury. Malgin was hip-checked into the boards by Anton Stralman, hitting his head on the glass by the Panthers bench.
The Panthers (69 points) are winless in their past five games and have gone 1-7-1 in their past nine. They entered Monday seven points behind Toronto (76) for the Eastern Conference’s second wild card spot. Florida
would also have to jump the New York Islanders (75), Tampa Bay (73) and Philadelphia (70).
Florida hosts the Maple Leafs today at 7:30 p.m. at the BB&T Center.
For Ekblad, the concussion adds to a recent personal history of head injuries. During the World Cup in September, Ekblad suffered from whiplash after a hit while playing for Team North America. Last January, he missed four games with a concussion after Edmonton’s Matt Hendricks hit him.
Hendricks was called for boarding and suspended for three games by the NHL.
“I think it’s just the way of the world,” Rowe said of Ekblad’s head injuries. “We’ve got a great medical team here. … He’s in good hands. We just got to go through the NHL protocol and see how he progresses.”
Rowe said the team cannot contact the league about possible discipline for Dumont until 48 hours have passed, but that he would check later on Monday. After Dumont’s hit, Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle fought him. Both players were assessed fiveminute fighting penalties, and Yandle also served a two-minute roughing call.
Though Weegar will join the Panthers before today’s game, he will likely not be in the lineup. Rowe said Florida intends to play Jakub Kindl in Ekblad’s absence. Kindl has not played since Jan. 23 and was paired with Mark Pysyk on Monday morning.
Weegar has never played in the NHL and did not arrive in time for Monday’s practice.
“He was definitely the next guy to get called up,” Rowe said. “The kid’s done a great job and we want him here to get a little taste of what it’s about and, obviously, if we needed another guy in case somebody gets hurt tomorrow night, he’s here.”
Weegar was a seventhround draft pick by the Panthers in 2013 and has 12 goals and 17 assists in 51 games for Springfield this season. In 144 career AHL games, he has 63 points. Back to normal After a two-game stretch that saw the Panthers lines scrambled, familiar trios were reunited for Monday morning’s practice. Jaromir Jagr, Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau were back together on the top line.
Reilly Smith, Jussi Jokinen and Vincent Trocheck manned the second
line, while Thomas Vanek, Jonathan Marchessault and Nick Bjugstad were on the third line. The fourth line was Shawn Thornton, Michael Sgarbossa and Colton Sceviour.
“When we were winning consistently, that’s what the line mix was,” Rowe said. “Figured we’d go back to that. We got everybody comfortable with the guys they’ve played the most with, given the fact that tomorrow night is our biggest game of the year. We have to win it and we have to win it in regulation.” Captain Derek MacKenzie did not practice Monday, with Rowe saying it was just for “maintenance.” ... Springfield forward Paul
Thompson was named CCM/AHL Player of the Week after recording four goals and an assist in three games. Thompson has played 21 games with Florida in the NHL, tallying three assists.