LAS VEGAS 鈥� Aaron Ekblad controlled his emotions the best he could after the Florida Panthers were eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights in a 9-3 loss Tuesday night in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
As the Knights celebrated their first championship, Ekblad and the Panthers remained somber after a remarkable and improbable run through the playoffs as the Eastern Conference鈥檚 No. 8 seed.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough feeling right now and you can鈥檛 sum it up in one game,鈥� Ekblad said, fighting back tears. 鈥淭hought we came out, played hard tonight, so you can look back on that as a positive. The things you go through to get to this point, you couldn鈥檛 imagine.鈥�
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Like overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the opening round against the NHL鈥檚 Presidents鈥� Trophy-winning Boston Bruins, and opening the next three rounds with two road games, in Toronto, Carolina and Las Vegas.
鈥淲hat a team, right?鈥� Ekblad said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not easy to do that. Some of the best teams in regular season history, so there鈥檚 a lot of positives to look at.鈥�
The Panthers also dealt with numerous injuries, most notably points leader Matthew Tkachuk.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure 鈥� it鈥檚 his collarbone, sternum, clavicle, SI joint is I think the words I heard,鈥� Florida coach Paul Maurice said.
Maurice confirmed Tkachuk suffered the fracture after being hit by Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar in Game 3, and went on to say he needed assistance dressing for Game 4 with someone helping him put his gear and jersey on while also needing someone to tie his skates.
鈥淭hat was a bit of a problem,鈥� Maurice said. 鈥淗e鈥檚, I don鈥檛 know, one of four guys with broken bones.鈥�
Nevertheless, Ekblad, said the Panthers came together to form a bond only they鈥檒l be able to appreciate considering the obstacles they overcame.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of guys that played through a lot of stuff, and that was tough for sure," Ekblad said. "As a group, we stuck together and ... we learned a lot about ourselves and our game and who we are as people. What we went through is miraculous and the way some guys played and collectively as a team, the way we played, was pretty incredible.
"Ultimately, we just didn鈥檛 get the job done here.鈥�
What he and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky said they did get done was laying a foundation for next season.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no stopping now,鈥� Ekblad said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no stopping here. Bump in the road and it鈥檚 going to sting. It stings now. But we鈥檒l find a way to come back next year and be stronger because of it. I mean, how could you not go through what we went through this year?"
Added Bobrovksy: 鈥淚鈥檓 really proud and it was a privilege for me to play with them and fight with them. It鈥檚 definitely tough, definitely tough way to lose that way, to lose the game that way and end the season that way. But we have done a fantastic job and I want to stick to that. Last year we won only one round of playoffs. This year we won three rounds. So we鈥檙e building. We鈥檙e getting there and we鈥檙e excited. Next season, we鈥檙e going to have another opportunity and I鈥檓 excited for that.鈥�
