Ekblad returns for Panthers against Sharks
Sharks starting goalie Alexandar Georgiev, in a shaky performance, was pulled at the 3:01 mark of the second period after allowing four goals on 15 shots. Yaroslav Askarov came on in relief and but did not fare much better, as he allowed three goals on 16 shots.
The San Jose Sharks got off to a spirited start Saturday, but it did not take long for the defending Cup champion Panthers to flex their muscles. The Panthers tied a season-high with seven goals — fou
After a strong first period in which they scored two goals in less than a minute, the San Jose Sharks went south quick and hard Saturday night in a 7-2 loss to the visiting Florida Panthers.
The Florida Panthers sure bounced back from their blown lead in Los Angeles in a big way on Saturday. Skating against the struggling San Jose Sharks, Florida was dominant for much of the night, eventually earning an impressive 7-2 victory. It took less than six minutes for the Panthers to get the scoring started on Saturday against the Sharks.
Matthew Tkachuk scored once in a three-point outing while Aaron Ekblad collected one goal and one assist in his return to the lineup to pace the visiting Florida Panthers to a 7-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.
The Cats have traveled north and will face the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday night. It will be the second and final meeting between Florida and San Jose this season after the two battled down in Sunrise back in early December.
The Panthers have eight players total slated to participate in the tournament: Four for Finland (Barkov, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola), two for Canada (Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett), one for the United States (Matthew Tkachuk) and one for Sweden (Gustav Forsling).
Team Finland announced their leadership group for the 4 Nations Face-Off today and both Carolina Hurricanes forwards Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen were named alternate captains. Finland will be captained by Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers and Mikael Granlund of the San Jose Sharks will also serve as an alternate captain.
Team Finland will be captained by a Stanley Cup champion at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Aleksander Barkov of the defending champion Florida Panthers will wear the ‘C’ for Finland. Carolina Hurricanes stars Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen, and San Jose Sharks veteran Mikael Granlund, will serve as assistant captains.
Aleksander Barkov takes pride in wearing the 'C' as captain of the Florida Panthers. So, he appreciates the meaning of being able to also do it while representing his country. Barkov was named captain for Team Finland for the 4 Nations Face-Off on Thursday.
Aleksander Barkov and Victor Hedman were named captains for Team Finland and Team Sweden, respectively, on Thursday ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off.