Brandon Montour, Aaron Ekblad on how they're feeling 8 games into season

Eight games have passed since Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad made their regular season debuts for the Florida Panthers.

The pair of elite defenders each had shoulder surgery in June and played their first game on Nov. 17 when the Panthers were in Anaheim.

It’s been a gradual process for Montour to get back up to speed. Through eight games, Montour has two assists, 12 shots on goal, 7 blocks, 7 hits and a plus-1 rating while averaging 24:03 of ice time, which is just a touch off the 24:07 he averaged last season.

“It's been feeling good,” Montour said after Tuesday’s practice at Amerant Bank Arena. “My legs feel good, the touches are getting better every game. I’m slowly getting a little more confidence, just feeling with the puck, but overall, I think it's been solid. It's just keeping up with our tempo, finding some defensive plays, playing guys harder in the corners, and seeing how the shoulder works. I'm at that point now where I’m really not thinking about it, with the injury and the rehab, so I think that's a positive.”

Ekblad has felt comfortable from day one, and the production is starting to come with it.

While his two assists have come in Florida’s past three outings, Ekblad has racked up 23 shots on goal, 15 blocks, 5 hits and a plus-3 rating in his eight games on Florida's top pairing with Gus Forsling. His average ice time of 22:06 is over a minute less than the 23:24 he averaged last season, though special teams is likely playing a role in that.

Overall, he's looked like his usual, play disrupting, entry feeding self.

“To be honest, after a few shifts I felt like I was back in my rhythm,” Ekblad said.

Since his return, Montour been skating on Florida’s second defensive pairing with Niko Mikkola and has seen his power play reps grow to the point where he is now back where he was last season, quarterbacking the top unit as its only defenseman.

Montour and Ekblad have been fortunate that, despite recovering from shoulder injuries, they were able to maintain their legs and stay in excellent shape.

Not having to worry about the cardio element is an advantage that a player rehabbing a lower-body injury wouldn’t be able to enjoy.

“It was an ode to the medical team, to Patric Hornqvist, (Tuomo) Ruutu, (Brandon Montour), (Jonah) Gadjovich, all the guys that kind of worked hard together to get to that, and I think it paid off well,” Ekblad said.

On the other hand, coming back from serious shoulder injury is difficult in a sport as physically demanding as hockey.

It comes with a bit of a feeling out process, one that each player has had to carefully navigate, which is why being in excellent shape is crucial to a smoother transition.

“I think it's different in a game, obviously, when you're pushing guys and being physical or shooting or passing and making plays, but I tried to keep my legs into it as best I could, and they’ve been feeling good,” Montour said. “Anytime that (Panthers assistant coach Sylvain Lefebvre) and the guys want me on the ice, I think I feel pretty good and I'm not tired, and that's what I wanted to come in at. It's been early still but I feel pretty good in that aspect.”

In their eight games since returning, Montour and Ekblad have been welcomed additions to what has suddenly become one of the deepest defensive corps in all of hockey.

Both played instrumental roles in Florida’s success last season and should only add to what has been brewing in their absence.

Entering play Wednesday, the Panthers are second in the Atlantic Division with a 14-8-2 record. They allow 2.54 goals against per game, which is the fourth fewest in the NHL, and 27.6 shots against per game, the third least in the league.

Even when taking all that into consideration, it still seems reasonable to think that the Panthers best hockey is still ahead of them. Adding two of the best defensemen in the game will have that kind of effect.

“We missed so much time, with training camp, the preseason and much of the games,” Montour said of himself and Ekblad. “It's nice that we were obviously around, but when you're not playing and in the mix, it's a little different. It's nice to have both of us back.”

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