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.

Rantanen was acquired in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche on Friday for forwards Jack Drury and Martin Necas, along with a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Hall was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks for a third-round pick in the 2025 Draft.

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

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.

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.

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.

Good to go against Sharks

(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. Matthew Tkachuk had a ...

NHL: San Jose Sharks center Mikael Granlund was named an assistant captain for Finland’s 4 Nations Face-Off team

The San Jose Sharks are currently the bottom-ranked team in the entire NHL with a 15-32-6 record. With not much more room to fall, it seems pretty likely the Sh