SUNRISE, Fla. – Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov is skating in his 1,000th National Hockey League regular season game tonight vs. the Los Angeles Kings. The Panthers will honor Kulikov’s milestone in a pregame ceremony prior to Florida’s 6 p.m. (ET) game against the New York Islanders on Sunday, Feb. 2 at Amerant Bank Arena.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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?

FORT LAUDERDALE — The Florida Panthers held a spirited practice Monday morning ... The Panthers practiced without defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Gus Forsling on Monday; Maurice said Ekblad is closer to a return although he did not have a timeline for ...

SAN JOSE – He’s back. 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 ...

Ekblad (upper body) skated before Monday's practice and felt better than he thought he would, per Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site. Ekblad has missed the last five games, and it remains unclear if he will play against Anaheim on Tuesday.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — 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.