NOTEBOOK: Ekblad, Verhaeghe practice; Planning for Game 82

FORT LAUDERDALE – The Florida Panthers are almost whole again.

Expected to be ready for Game 1 of the playoffs, defenseman Aaron Ekblad and forward Carter Verhaeghe were both on the ice for practice at Baptist Health IcePlex on Monday.

Both players were also in full-contact jerseys.

“Neither will play tomorrow, but they’re close enough we can say with pretty strong confidence they’ll be in Game 1,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “They looked good.”

Verhaeghe has been sidelined since April 1; Ekblad has been out since April 2.

For teammates, seeing two key pieces back provided a noticeable boost during practice.

“Obviously huge parts of our team,” defenseman Brandon Montour said. “Any time you have guys like that out for a period of time it [stinks], but obviously two guys that have been around the last couple years and always have a smile on their faces and bring energy.”

Maurice said that energy was noticeable during drills.

“It’s good to get the guys back. You look different,” the Panthers bench boss said of the duo. “Both of those guys get up and down the ice so well that it changes the way you practice.”

An elite sniper, Verhaeghe ranks second on the Panthers in goals (33) and fourth in points (71). One half of the team’s top-defensive pairing, Ekblad has registered 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) while also being tasked with shutting down opposing team’s top lines.

With the playoffs on the horizon, the Panthers are getting healthy at the perfect time.

“Having everybody healthy come Game 1 is huge for us,” Montour said.

OEL, BARKOV UPDATES

Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Aleksander Barkov were both absent from today’s practice.

After suffering a minor injury during Saturday’s 3-2 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres, Ekman-Larsson remains day to day, but shouldn’t be in any real danger of missing Game 1.

“Might play tomorrow,” Maurice said of the veteran D-man. “We’ll see how he comes in.”

As for Barkov, nothing to be alarmed about there either.

“I’d put him in the OEL department,” Maurice said. “He just came in stiff this morning and couldn’t loosen up, so we didn’t put him on the ice. There’s no injury from the last game.”

Phew.

PLAN FOR GAME 82

How will the Panthers approach their final game of the regular season?

Well, that remains to be seen.

With home-ice advantage already locked up, the Panthers aren’t quite sure what sort of lineup they’ll roll out against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 82 on Tuesday in Sunrise.

Sitting one point out of first place in the Atlantic Division, the Panthers (51-24-6, 108 points) will only technically have something to play for against the Maple Leafs if the Boston Bruins (47-18-15) come away with less than two points against the Washington Capitals tonight.

The winner of the division will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 1.

“If there’s something to play for tomorrow, we’re playing our full team,” Maurice said. “If there’s not, we’ll take a look at one or two guys that have a lot of minutes on them -- a couple of guys have minor, minor injuries we might consider -- and we’ll fill our roster out.”

As for which players might sit, Maurice said it hasn’t been easy finding volunteers.

While there’s four or five guys that have played noticeably heavy minutes during the regular season, none of them are champing at the bit to hit the pine. In fact, most would rather keep on playing and stay in a rhythm rather than have a full week off between games before playing in Game 1.

“There’s not a lot of option holes there for me to take,” Maurice said.

If the Bruins do pick up two points against the Capitals, the Panthers will be locked into their first-round matchup with the Maple Leafs – a rematch of last year’s second round.

With that, Montour believes that Game 82 would kick off an “eight-game series.”

“You want to end the season off right,” Montour said. “Regardless of what the lineup looks like, guys will be amped just to finish strong and feel good going into Game 1.”

Stay tuned to FloridaPanthers.com for updates on Tuesday.