{"id":1896,"date":"2025-04-27T02:28:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-27T02:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/1896\/"},"modified":"2025-04-27T02:28:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-27T02:28:12","slug":"suspended-florida-panthers-top-defenseman-aaron-ekblad-returns-for-game-3-of-round-1-of-the-2025-stanley-cup-playoffs-against-tampa-bay-lightning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/1896\/","title":{"rendered":"Suspended Florida Panthers top defenseman Aaron Ekblad returns for Game 3 of Round 1 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against Tampa Bay Lightning"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Suspended(Image via Getty: Aaron Ekblad) On March 10, 2025, Florida Panthers\u2019 top ice hockey defenseman Aaron Ekblad was suspended for 20 games due to a failed drug test. To be precise, for violating the NHL\/NHLPA\u2019s Performance Enhancing Substances Program. Ekblad had shared in a press release back then, \u201cThe news that I failed a random drug test was a shock. Ultimately, I made a mistake by taking something to help me recover from recent injuries without first checking with proper medical and team personnel.\u201d
Cut to April 26, 2025, Florida Panthers wrote on their X account, \u201cIt\u2019s huge for us. Obviously, he\u2019s an elite defenseman.\u201d @JamesonCoop with the story on Ekky\u2019s return tomorrow!\u201d Meaning – Ekblad will play now! Against the Tampa Bay Lightning! In Game 3 of Round 2 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs! The Panthers are high with Game 1 and Game 2 wins – Can this top defenseman\u2019s return promise a rocking win for the Panthers in Game 3? Only time will tell. For now, how does Aaron Ekblad feel about his return?<\/p>\n

Aaron Ekblad was his own coach all this while he was on a 20-game suspension<\/p>\n

\u201cI was still able to skate, work out, and draw up on my on-ice programs as best I could. I\u2019d watch the games, I\u2019d see something (Gustav Forsling) would do, and I\u2019d try to mimic it and practice the next day. So it was a good lesson in being my own coach for a little bit.\u201d – Aaron Ekblad shared with NHL.com about his absence from the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs and 20 games.<\/p>\n

Aaron Ekblad will be paired with Gustav Forsling for Game 3 of Round 1 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning<\/p>\n

Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice talked about Aaron Ekblad\u2019s return with NHL.com, \u201cVery unusual timing. Usually, a player that\u2019s out for 20 games has a significant injury, and that really affects their rehab.
I would say that Aaron\u2019s probably in the best shape of his life right now. We will put him right back with his partner.\u201d Gustav Forsling is his Aaron Ekblad\u2019s partner. This star duo was a major highlight in the run for the 2024 Stanley Cup, and they ultimately won! It looks like the Tampa Bay Lightning is in for some competition and terror!
Also Read: \u201cDo not dare put Skinner bad in the net again\u201d: Calvin Pickard saves Edmonton Oilers from failing the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs | NHL News – The Times of India<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Image via Getty: Aaron Ekblad) On March 10, 2025, Florida Panthers\u2019 top ice hockey defenseman Aaron Ekblad was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1897,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[463,464],"tags":[274,803,57,1232,1231,5,1230,4,1229,60,804,14,104,718,1228,92],"class_list":{"0":"post-1896","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl-playoffs","8":"category-stanley-cup-playoffs","9":"tag-2025-stanley-cup-playoffs","10":"tag-aaron-ekblad","11":"tag-florida-panthers","12":"tag-game-return","13":"tag-gustav-forsling","14":"tag-hockey","15":"tag-hockey-defenseman","16":"tag-nhl","17":"tag-nhl-performance-enhancing-substances-program","18":"tag-nhl-playoffs","19":"tag-paul-maurice","20":"tag-stanley-cup","21":"tag-stanley-cup-playoffs","22":"tag-stanley-cup-playoffs-nhl","23":"tag-suspension","24":"tag-tampa-bay-lightning"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/114407572519594283","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}