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.

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.

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San Jose Sharks ... has 14 goals and 29 assists for the Sharks. Macklin Celebrini has three goals and five assists over the past 10 games. Sam Reinhart has 28 goals and 24 assists for the Panthers.

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.

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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.

Analyzing Sunday’s Florida Panthers at Vegas Golden Knights odds and lines, with NHL expert picks, predictions and best bets.

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.

Cody Ceci and Will Smith scored in the Sharks' 7-2 loss to Panthers, who got goals from seven players in handing San Jose its sixth straight loss Saturday.

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.

Six weeks after he suffered a fractured cheekbone, goalie Vitek Vanecek appears to be getting close to a return as he’s been skating with the Sharks in recent days and, per coach Ryan Warsofsky, is now considered day-to-day,