Ekblad tallied his eighth goal of the season in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Predators. Ekblad has emerged from the All-Star Game on a roll as his goal marked the fifth point in seven games since the break. With 30 points in 51 games, the 19-year-old is already a solid point producing option from the blueline.

Ekblad picked up a pair of power-play assists and went minus-2 in Tuesday's loss to Detroit. He'd gone into the break in a bit of a skid, with just two points in the prior six games, but had a four-point All-Stat Game performance and now exits the break with a couple more points. A 50-point rookie season remains in sight for the studly young blueliner.

Ekblad netted his sixth goal of the season in Thursday's loss to the Avalanche. It was the first goal in more than a month for the Calder Trophy candidate, who had attempted a whopping 37 shots over the previous 15 games without finding net. A slump like that can certainly be forgiven, as the 18-year-old has been every bit as good as the Panthers could have hoped when they selected him No. 1 overall in this past June's draft. He's tied for 20th overall in the league in defenseman scoring with 25 points in 42 games.

Ekblad assisted on Aleksander Barkov's game-winner in Thursday's road victory over the Canucks. Ekblad didn't attempt a shot in the game, but managed to extend his point streak to three games while improving his plus/minus rating to plus-10 for the season. There's been absolutely no learning curve for the rookie, who has tallied an impressive 23 points in 38 games, which places him in a tie for 19th place in the NHL in defenseman scoring.

Ekblad assisted on Nick Bjugstad's third-period goal in Tuesday's shootout loss to the Canadiens. After opening December with a five-game point streak, Ekblad has gone quiet of late, recording only two points in his last nine contests. Even so, with five goals and 15 assists in 34 games, Ekblad still ranks third in the NHL in rookie scoring while also sporting a strong plus-9 rating.

Ekblad (undisclosed) was on the ice for morning skate and has been cleared to play Friday against the Red Wings, George Richards of the Miami Herald reports. Though it's not known why Ekblad was a spectator for Thursday's practice, coach Gerard Gallant confirmed he would go with the same lineup Friday that he used in the team's previous game, suggesting the blueliner is good to go. Since Ekblad's health doesn't appear to be a concern, fantasy owners should keep him in their active lineups Friday, as he's been on an absolute tear of late. He has three goals and four assists in five December contests.

Ekblad missed Thursday's practice due to an undisclosed injury and could be at risk of missing Friday's game against the Red Wings, Harvey Fialkov of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. The red-hot rookie blueliner, who has produced three goals and four assists over his last five games, seems to have endured his first road bump of the season, as it sounds like he may have sustained some sort of ailment in Monday's loss to the Blues. Both the extent and nature of the injury remain shrouded in mystery, but expect the Panthers to shine more light on the situation following Friday's morning skate. In any event, the team seems to be preparing for Ekblad to miss his first game of the season, as Shane O'Brien was recalled from AHL San Antonio after Thursday's practice.

Ekblad found twine for his fifth goal of the season in Monday's 4-2 loss to the Blues. He now has seven points over a five-game point streak and is tied for the team lead in scoring with forward Nick Bjugstad. Another simply sensational outing by the 18-year-old rearguard, who now sits third in rookie scoring with 18 points behind forwards Filip Forsberg and Johnny Gaudreau. Ekblad is also plus-7 over the last four games, which is a nice treat since young rookie d-men are often quite volatile defensively while they adjust to life in the NHL.

Ekblad set up all three Florida goals in a 3-2 win on Saturday night. The points extend his current scoring streak to four games and six points, including four assists. He's also plus-6 in those four games and he's really starting to show flashes of the dominance expected him from draft day. He's scoring at a 50-plus point pace. Wow.

Ekblad scored a power-play marker in the second period to tie the game at 1-1, but it was not enough as Florida fell 2-1 in Monday's game against the Blue Jackets. Ekblad now has 12 points (3G, 9A) on the season which has him sitting tied for 4th in rookie scoring. He has been everything the Panthers could have asked for this season, playing 21:44 minutes a night while on the first defense pairing. Look for him to continue to be a big piece of Florida's puzzle going forward.