Panthers’ Ekblad taken off ice on stretcher with leg injury

<p>DALLAS &mdash; Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a left leg injury midway through the second period against the Dallas Stars on Sunday.</p>
<p>An aircast was applied to Ekblad’s left leg. Minutes earlier, Ekblad got caught up with Stars defenseman Esa Lindell in the corner following a hit from Lindell.</p>
<p>Ekblad has 11 goals this season, tied for the most among NHL defensemen. He scored the winning goal in overtime Saturday night against the Stars.</p>
<p>The Panthers were already playing their third straight game without captain Aleksander Barkov, sidelined with a lower body injury, and Patric Hornqvist, who is expected to miss a week with an undisclosed injury.</p>
<hr />
<p>More AP NHL: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/NHL">https://apnews.com/hub/NHL</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a></p>