The Bruins wrecked the majority of Panthers’ roster in first round!
Brutal list of injuries in Florida revealed late last night:
HockeyFeed
Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice revealed the extent of the injuries that his players sustained throughout the postseason in his media availability after his team dropped the decisive Game 5 of the Stanley Cup against the Vegas Golden Knights. It is incredible that Florida managed to make it to the last round with the brutal list of injuries revealed by Maurice.
Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad played with a broken foot and dealt with multiple other injuries throughout his team’s run. Maurice explained how Ekblad broke his foot during the Panthers’ quarterfinal series victory over the Boston Bruins way back in April. He only missed one game. Ekblad then suffered two separate shoulder dislocations and a torn oblique muscle as the Panthers defeated the Bruins, and went on to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Carolina Hurricanes en route to the Final.
“Aaron Ekblad broke his foot in the Boston series and he popped his shoulder out twice, passed a concussion test, tore his oblique .. We had four broken bones. We’ve got three shoulders that have to get taken care of. We’ve got oblique tears. “
It looks like the Bruins ending up helping their former coach Bruce Cassidy in Vegas.
“The vast majority of (our) injuries came in the Boston series,” Maurice explained to Jackie Redmond.
It was also confirmed that defenseman Radko Gudas played through a high-ankle sprain.
The most brutal injury had to be Matthew Tkachuk’s torn sternum and broken ribs he suffered in Game 3 of the Final, but still came out to play Game 4 with the help of his brother Brady and his teammates.
Maurice didn’t divulge any more specifics, but did admit that multiple players will require surgeries, with some recovery periods being four-to-six months. This means it would put the start of the 2023-24 regular season in jeopardy for some players.
At this point in the postseason, everyone is injured. But to know the Panthers, the underdogs in all this, managed to beat talented teams while being so beat up is something they have to be proud of.
Now, rest up boys!
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