Two key Florida Panthers defensemen are back in the lineup for the first time this season.

Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour are in against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night, the team announced. Both blue-liners underwent shoulder surgery in June and missed training camp along with the Cats' first 16 games of this campaign.

In September, Panthers general manager Bill Zito estimated the defensive duo would be healed by around mid-December.

Following Florida's surprising run to the Stanley Cup Final last season, Ekblad revealed he had a dislocated shoulder, a broken foot, and a torn oblique during the playoffs.

Montour led the Panthers in average ice time during the 2022-23 regular season at 24:08. He exploded for 16 goals and 57 assists over 80 games before adding eight tallies and five helpers in 21 postseason contests.

The 29-year-old averaged a whopping 26:58 of ice time in those playoffs, ranking second to Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars among rearguards who played more than six games. Montour is in his third full season with the Panthers, who acquired him in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres in April 2021.

Ekblad collected 14 goals and 24 assists across 71 regular-season games in 2022-23 before adding two tallies and six helpers in 20 playoff contests. The 27-year-old averaged 23:24 of time during the regular season and 23:57 in the postseason last spring.

He's spent his entire career with the Panthers, who drafted him first overall in 2014.

Forward Jonah Gadjovich is also making his Panthers debut Friday after signing as a free agent in the offseason.

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Matt and Jeff Paterson, the host of the Rink Wide: Vancouver podcast, discuss Thursday's 5-2 loss in Calgary, and the upcoming game in Seattle. A contract extension for Elias Pettersson, 5-on-5 scoring, a tough night for the stars and Casey DeSmith, Linus Karlsson's NHL debut, and ongoing injuries are other topics. They also talk about the 110th Grey Cup game, Matthieu Betts winning most outstanding defensive player at the CFL Awards, plus a costly Thursday night game for both the Bengals and Ravens.

Frank Seravalli stops by from Sweden and the NHL's Stockholm games. Frank gives us the latest in the Pettersson negotiations, muses on whether it will be a short or long-term deal, tells us what teams are selling defencemen, addresses the crisis in Columbus, predicts when we might see best-on-best international hockey and the proposed changes to overtime.

Plus, we go To The People and hear from listeners/followers on a variety of Canucks' topics! Presented by Applewood Auto Group.

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Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent had a simple explanation for why Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine didn't see the ice down the stretch in a 3-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.

In the late stages of the defeat, Vincent favored his second line of Dmitri Voronkov, Adam Fantilli, and Kirill Marchenko over the top unit that normally features the two aforementioned talents.

"I coach a team," Vincent said postgame, according to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline. "I don't coach individuals. Those guys were going, they're going to play. That's what we've been doing all year.

"Once the game starts, we have 18 guys and two goalies. Tonight, it was those guys that were going, and that's why they were on the ice."

When asked if the opposite held true for Gaudreau and Laine, Vincent implied the affirmative.

"Asking that question is answering that question," the Columbus bench boss said.

Vincent sat Laine for the final 9:53 and held Gaudreau out for the last 6:15.

Gaudreau and Laine were both held pointless in the contest, playing 14:42 and 12:36, respectively. Both players were on the ice when Lawson Crouse buried the Coyotes' second goal in a 28-second span to go up 3-1 in the third period. Laine finished the loss with no shots on goal, and Gaudreau registered only two.

Jackets defenseman Damon Severson scored to make it 3-2 with 1:57 remaining, but Columbus couldn't complete the comeback.

Vincent also benched Gaudreau for the final 16 minutes of the Blue Jackets' 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Nov. 4. He said at the time that "it's not about your name, it's about what's in front of your jersey and who we believe are going to give us a chance to win."

Gaudreau is Columbus' highest-paid player with a cap hit of $9.75 million through 2028-29. Laine is the Jackets' third-highest-paid player and second-highest-paid forward at $8.7 million through 2025-26.

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We have a very small card ahead of us on Friday. There are only three games scheduled and just two for the night slate.

Not much stands out in terms of sides and totals, but there are still a few props that caught my eye. Let's take a closer look.

Kyle Connor over 3.5 shots

Connor is off to a red-hot start to the campaign. He's scored 13 goals through 15 games and is shooting the puck at a very high clip, averaging 4.5 shots per game on over seven attempts.

Although he is efficient at five-on-five, a healthy chunk of his shots come on the power play. Getting him the puck on the man advantage is clearly Winnipeg's top priority, as he leads the team in points and has nearly twice as many shots as the closest teammate to him.

That's important to note when going up against the Sabres. They have struggled with discipline thus far, taking more penalties per game than all but three teams.

If they're going to give the Jets a handful of opportunities on the power play, that should greatly benefit Connor on his quest for four shots.

Odds: -110 (playable to -130)

Cole Perfetti over 0.5 points

Perfetti looks like one of the better young players in the NHL. He has 13 points through 15 games and has been a model of consistency, finding the scoresheet in seven consecutive games and recording nine points in that span.

He has produced with extreme efficiency at five-on-five, averaging 3.26 points per 60 minutes in that game state, a top-tier rate that comfortably ranks him first on the Jets.

With Tage Thompson sidelined due to injury, the Sabres' forward crop is not as dangerous. Their thinned-out group should make life a little easier for Perfetti at evens.

He also skates on the top power-play unit. The Sabres take penalties in bunches - and their goaltending is mediocre - so that's certainly a big plus.

Expect Perfetti to stay hot and find success in an advantageous matchup at home.

Odds: -115 (playable to -140)

Matthew Tkachuk over 3.5 shots

The Ducks have been a constant target for shot props, and there is no reason to get away from that. They are allowing well over 32 per game this season and their numbers are actually trending in the wrong direction.

That's not good news when squaring off against the Panthers. They are one of the best shot-generating teams in the NHL and have feasted on the Ducks time and time again in recent history.

Dating back to 2022, the Panthers have posted shot totals of 42, 55, 48, and 55 against the Ducks. Insane outputs.

While this year's version of the Ducks is better than what we've seen in the past, they do have warts defensively and take more penalties per game than anybody.

This is a spot where Tkachuk - the Panthers' leader in attempts, shots on goal, and high-danger chances - should put up a big number.

Odds: -122 (playable to -145)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ToddCordell.

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Jonathan Huberdeau expressed relief Thursday night following a 5-2 victory by his Calgary Flames over the Vancouver Canucks in which he scored a goal after going 11 games without one.

"Obviously, it felt good; it has been a while," the Flames forward told reporters. "It was good to get, finally, a goal and a big win for us."

Huberdeau elevated the puck from in tight to net his third tally of the season early in the third period.

The 30-year-old winger added that he appreciated the response from the crowd when he got off the schneid.

"I (took) it in, (and) I think it's nice to get the support from the crowd. They've been patient," Huberdeau said. "It's nice, obviously, but hopefully that can get me going. It was a good game, our line, we created a lot of chances. We've just got to take that and do it for next game."

Flames head coach Ryan Huska also credited the Calgary crowd for acknowledging Huberdeau's effort.

"I thought it was cool. We have great fans here, and what they do recognize is hard work," the bench boss said. "You could see that from him tonight, so when he gets rewarded, it was nice, and it goes a long way for a player that is really working to find his way. We're all happy for him. It was good to see him score that."

Huberdeau later set up Elias Lindholm's empty-netter with under two minutes remaining.

The veteran of 11 previous seasons played 10 of those with the Florida Panthers. He amassed a career-high 85 assists and 115 points in 2021-22 while finishing fifth in Hart Trophy voting. But after the Panthers traded him to the Flames in the blockbuster swap involving Matthew Tkachuk (and Calgary signed Huberdeau to an eight-year, $84-million contract shortly thereafter), he's had well-documented struggles with his new club.

The 2011 third overall pick collected only 15 goals and 40 assists in 79 games during the 2022-23 campaign, and his average ice time (16:52) was his lowest since 2013-14.

Huberdeau got off to a promising start to this season, netting two goals and two assists in the first four contests. But then came the 11-game scoring drought in which he produced only three assists.

The Quebec-born forward has six helpers to go along with his three tallies over 16 games in this campaign.

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