Ekblad taken off on stretcher with serious leg injury
Florida Panthers standout defenseman Aaron Ekblad was taken off the ice on a stretcher after sustaining an apparently serious injury during the Panthers’ game Sunday in Dallas against the Stars.
With the Panthers ahead 3-1 and on a power play with 11:02 left in the second period, Ekblad was taken into the corner boards in his offensive zone by Dallas’ Esa Lindell.
Lindell appeared to catch Ekblad’s right skate with his stick, resulting in Florida’s alternate captain hopping airborne and then landing with his full weight on his left leg. It appeared Ekblad’s leg gave way, sending the former All-Star to the ice, writhing in pain. He immediately removed his helmet and grabbed below his knee as medical personnel arrived.
The arena fell silent for a handful of minutes until Ekblad, 25, was rolled off the surface.
There was no penalty called on what looked like a fairly routine play until the injury.
Ekblad is in his sixth season with Florida after he was picked first in the 2014 NHL draft.
The incident came less than 24 hours after Ekblad had scored with 9.3 seconds left in overtime — after his apparent winner moments earlier was wiped out by a replay review — as the Panthers beat the Stars 4-3.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone score two overtime goals in the same game,” Florida coach Joel Quenneville said late Saturday.
Carter Verhaeghe got the Panthers to overtime with a hat trick and they snapped a threegame losing streak that marked their longest of the season. Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves in the first of back-to-back games between the teams in Dallas.
Ekblad scored on a backhand on a 2-on-1 after being denied a goal with 47.8 seconds remaining in the extra period when a video review determined he was offside.