For going on three seasons now, the Florida Panthers’ Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad have consistently been one of the NHL’s top defense pairings. But getting to that consistently high level was a result of evolution by both players.

Defenseman Aaron Ekblad had a goal and an assist in his return from an upper-body injury and the Florida Panthers routed the San Jose Sharks 7-2 on Saturday night.

Rantanen was acquired in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche on Friday for forwards Jack Drury and Martin Necas, along with a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Hall was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks for a third-round pick in the 2025 Draft.

There is hope that the Panthers will get defenseman Aaron Ekblad back in the lineup at some point while they're out west. Ekblad has been battling an undisclosed injury and missed each of Florida's past five games.

Florida stumbled out of the gate on Saturday in San Jose, but once they snapped into form it was off to the races

The Florida Panthers are set to bolster their blue line with the return of defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who has missed the past seven games due to an upper-body injury.

The Panthers, who have won four of their last six, erased an early one-goal deficit with six unanswered goals to coast past the host San Jose Sharks.

After missing each of the last seven games, top-pair defenseman Aaron Ekblad will return to the blue line for the Florida Panthers when they face-off against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday.

Sergei Bobrovsky is the proven veteran. Spencer Knight is on a bit of a hot streak. How does that impact how Paul Maurice is going to handle reps between his two goaltenders?

The Los Angeles Kings are in town and have practically owned the Florida Panthers over the last several seasons. Just last Wednesday, the Kings scored twice in the third to squeeze out a 2-1 win in Los Angeles.

The Florida Panthers could have defenseman Aaron Ekblad back in the lineup tonight against the San Jose Sharks, coach Paul Maurice said. Ekblad has missed eight games, including the past seven, after blocking a shot against the Penguins in the first period on Jan.

Adin Hill made 32 saves, Tanner Pearson had his first game-winning goal of the season and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Sunday night.