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Florida Panthers News

Lundell (lower-body/illness) will return to the Panthers lineup on Saturday afternoon.

Lundell has missed the last 11 games with a combination of a lower-body injury and illness but is set to play Saturday in New Jersey. Lundell will replace Joe Thornton in the lineup but it's unclear who he will skate with to start.

Anton Lundell
The Panthers are "hopeful" that Lundell (lower-body/illness) can play on Saturday.

Lundell has missed the last 11 games with a combination of a lower-body injury and illness. The Panthers said that he will travel with the team to New Jersey and they are hopeful he will play against the Devils. Lundell tallied 14 goals with 24 assists (38 points) in 52 games before getting hurt.

Anton Lundell
Petry is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.

Petry suffered a lower-body injury against the Panthers on Thursday and is expected to miss an extended period of time. The injury comes at a tough time for Petry, who has been playing his best hockey of the season lately. He has 10 points (3G / 7A) in his last 17 games.

Jeff Petry
The Panthers are placing Aaron Ekblad (lower-body) on LTIR.

Moving Ekblad to LTIR opens up $7.5M in cap relief ahead of Monday's trade deadline. Ekblad will miss the rest of the regular season but should be ready to go for the first round of the playoffs. Losing Ekblad will hurt down the stretch but they are expected to use the cap-space to add Robert Hagg from Buffalo and could add more before the deadline.

Aaron Ekblad
Ekblad is week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

Ekblad left Thursday's game and was unable to put any weight on his right leg, so overall this is positive news. Head coach Andrew Brunette said that they will know more once the swelling goes down. Ben Chiarot will meet the Panthers in Montreal and will likely make his debut, replacing Ekblad in the lineup. Mackenzie Weegar is expected to take his spot on PP1.

Aaron Ekblad
Ekblad left Friday's game with a lower-body injury but "nothing structural," will be re-evaluated on Saturday.

Ekblad could not put any weight on his right leg as he was helped off of the ice in the first period of Friday's game in Anaheim. Given Ekblad's long history of serious injuries, there was cause for concern. Head coach Andrew Brunette told reporters post-games that there was no structural damage and it was "positive news tonight and we'll go from there." All-in-all, it sounds like Ekblad avoided another serious injury and won't be sidelined long-term.

Aaron Ekblad