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

A crucial piece on the blue line, Ekblad, despite missing time due to his injury, still leads Florida’s defensemen in both assists (18) and points (20). He also ranks third in hits (59) and blocked shots (56), while averaging a team-leading 23:32 of ice time per contest.

Cody Ceci and Will Smith scored for the Sharks (14-32-6), who have lost six straight and nine of ten. Alexandar Georgiev allowed four goals on 15 shots before being pulled early in the second period for Yaroslav Askarov, who stopped 14 of 17 shots in relief.

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.

“We’re still learning about him,” head coach Paul Maurice said of Bjornfot, who’s averaging 13:46 of ice time per game. “I can give you some of his characteristics, but I don’t know if I can truly define his game for you yet. That’s why it’s so important that he plays right now.” Taking a deeper dive, it’s the underlying numbers truly stand out.

One of each in return

Matthew Tkachuk scored once in a three-point outing while Aaron Ekblad collected one goal and one assist in his return to the lineup to pace the visiting Florida Panthers to a 7-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.

If it were up to some Maple Leafs fans, Auston Matthews would also be opting out of the 4 Nations Face-Off, writes Michael Traikos.

Good to go against Sharks

Ekblad was on the top pairing during the practice session, which is a good sign that he's close to a return. If he can't play Saturday, the Panthers are in action again Sunday versus the Golden Knights.