Florida Panthers Face Tough Challenge Opening Playoffs Without Aaron Ekblad

The Florida Panthers face a tough challenge to open the Stanley Cup Playoffs without Aaron Ekblad against one of the fastest, most dangerous teams in the league.

FORT LAUDERDALE — The Florida Panthers are kicking their Stanley Cup title defense with a bit of a challenge.

Florida will be without Aaron Ekblad for the first two games of its first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning as he finishes off a 20-game suspension. And the Lightning are not an easy team to play without one of your top defensemen.

Tampa Bay has one of the fastest teams in the league, and it scored the most goals in the league (292) and had the fifth-best power play (25.9 percent) in the league in the regular season.

“It’s really important for us,” coach Paul Maurice said. “Aaron would have the most experience on the blueline — he and Gustav [Forsling] — playing against that speed component. We just gotta make sure this doesn’t turn into a 1-on-1 game with that speed.

“We will get stretched out with the style of play they have and the offensive game they have, but we don’t want to be in a 1-on-1 position too often.”