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.

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.

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.

One of each in return

“We’re still learning about him,” head coach Paul Maurice said of Bjornfot, who’s averaging 13:46 of ice time per game. “I can give you some of his characteristics, but I don’t know if I can truly define his game for you yet. That’s why it’s so important that he plays right now.” Taking a deeper dive, it’s the underlying numbers truly stand out.

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.

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.

Chris Tanev won’t be campaigning for the job opening with Team Canada but everyone else in the Leafs’ dressing room will be happy to write him a reference letter for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

The Florida Panthers and the Los Angeles Kings are both coming off losses heading into their game on Wednesday night in Sunrise, Fla.