The reigning champions don’t seem keen on giving up that Stanley Cup just yet. The Florida Panthers just beat the Toronto Maple Leafs on their home turf, scoring 6-1 in game 5 of their round 2 series! Leafs’ fans are not impressed and were heard shouting boos in the second period, whereas Panthers’ fans are obviously over the moon and have probably forgotten all about the resentment they held for Aaron Ekblad when he got suspended earlier in the year and then again the second time! No, that’s old news. Ekblad is once again a hero on the blue line after having scored one of the six winning goals.

When asked in a postgame interview about his offensive contributions to this series, Ekblad stated that his offensive playing is “extremely important. Depth scoring in the playoffs is extremely important and to have D get in on that…and a lot of guys, it’s been great. I love it.” But when he speaks of offensive play, it isn’t just the goal scoring; it’s also his ruthless tendency to agitate, which is a trait that is not as common on the blue line as it is up front. This off-season alone, the defenseman has milked this aspect of his offensive playing.

The interviewer went on to ask Aaron Ekblad about the goal, about how it seemed that there was not anyone between him and the net when he scored (obviously a dig at the Leafs defense and not Ekblad’s scoring ability) but Ekblad retorted with, “I felt like there was 10 guys in front of me when I was shooting, to be honest so I don’t know.”

It’s an interesting mix, the defenseman with the offensive tendencies, because it is often a hard line to toe and requires a mastery of two different skill sets and mindsets, something that Ekblad must understand all too well after just recently serving a two-game suspension in the playoffs.

Aaron Ekblad’s offensive playing isn’t just about depth scoring; it includes agitating the opponents

Many Panthers fans, and hockey fans in general, will know that Ekblad had to miss the first two Panthers playoff games as part of the final portion of a twenty-game suspension for a ‘banned substance violation’ in the regular season. But he didn’t come back into action to play it safe. In round 1 of the Florida Panthers series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Ekblad got into trouble for elbowing the Lightning’s Brandon Hagel after the latter had hit Florida’s captain Aleksander Barkov in the head.

But Ekblad certainly isn’t one to play it safe, and he certainly isn’t one to let his teammates go down without a fight, Barkov in particular, it seems.  Though Ekblad didn’t recieve any penalty minutes in the game, he was slapped with a two day suspension in the aftermath, but still, this didn’t seem to hold him back. In round 2, when Max Domi pummeled Barkov against the boards, Aaron Ekblad rushed to the scene!

All in all, when Ekblad shows no shame over his offensive style, it’s because he really approaches the thing with a no-holds-barred mindset. Ekblad seems to be thinking for his team, and this series he has, despite all odds, helped the Panthers keep their shine going!