The Florida Panthers announced that both defenseman Aaron Ekblad and forward Denis Malgin suffered concussions in Saturday’s tilt against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Both players have a reported timetable of seven to ten days before a return to the lineup.
Tom Rowe said Aaron Ekblad and Denis Malgin are both expected to be out 7-10 days. #FlaPanthers
— Matthew DeFranks (@MDeFranks) March 13, 2017
Florida Panthers Lose Aaron Ekblad and Denis Malgin to Concussions
Ekblad was injured in the second period of the game when he was hit by Lightning player Gabriel Dumont up high which resulted in his head hitting the glass. He immediately left the ice and headed to the dressing room where he was then diagnosed with a concussion. Shortly after Ekblad’s injury, Malgin was checked into the boards by Bolts defenseman Anton Stralman, where like Ekblad, he immediately left the game. After the game, Panthers head coach Tom Rowe announced that both players indeed suffered concussions and were “day-to-day” which then became seven-ten days.
#FLA D Aaron Ekblad has suffered another concussion. This is his third recorded concussion. Ekblad is 21-years old.
— Penalty Box POV (@penaltyboxpov) March 12, 2017
This is Ekblad’s third head-related injury in the past fourteen months, the previous two coming at the World Cup of Hockey last year and in January of 2016. This is Malgin’s first diagnosed concussion at the NHL level. Though the team released that the two will be out for a maximum ten days, the case for return is never certain when it comes to concussions. Based on how severe they are, both players may miss extra time- especially Ekblad due to his history of head injuries.
This season, Ekblad has scored ten goals and has tallied eleven assists for 21 points total. This is Malgin’s first season playing with the Panthers at the NHL level- scoring four goals and tallying four assists in 42 games played.
In order to fill the vacancy on the blue line, Florida has recalled 23-year-old MacKenzie Weeger from the Panthers AHL affiliate team- the Springfield Thunderbirds. Weeger was a seventh-round draft pick in 2013 by the Panthers. In 51 AHL games this season has tallied 17 points. This will be his first time playing in the NHL.
#FlaPanthers recall defenseman MacKenzie Weegar from the @thunderbirdsahl.
Details » https://t.co/YaJSn1nPcw pic.twitter.com/Oojmn7hfzg
— Florida Panthers PR (@FlaPanthersPR) March 13, 2017
In order to fill the vacancy on the blue line, Florida has recalled 23-year-old MacKenzie Weeger from the Panthers AHL affiliate team- the Springfield Thunderbirds. Weeger was a seventh-round draft pick in 2013 by the Panthers. In 51 AHL games this season has tallied 17 points. This will be his first time playing in the NHL.
“He was definitely the next guy to get called up,” Rowe said in an interview with the Sun Sentinel. “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.”
Main Photo.
