Any Florida Panthers fans fretting having to begin the season without top defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour can breathe a sigh of relief after seeing Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s play in the preseason opener against the Nashville Predators.
Ekman-Larsson will need to be a driving force of offense amid Ekblad and Montour’s injury absences, and his three-assist performance in the Panthers’ preseason opener showed that he is up for the task.
Starting with a long stretch pass from the defensive zone up to Luostarinen at the blue line, Ekman-Larsson’s precision passing the puck directly leads to the scoring opportunity.