Three takeaways: Aaron Ekblad thriving, Panthers wrap up road trip on high note

The Florida Panthers are finally returning home after a long and grueling road trip.

On Wednesday, the Panthers met the Minnesota Wild at a snow-covered Xcel Energy Center and came away with a resounding 6-1 victory.

It was a great way for the Cats to cap off their challenging trip, and now they find themselves holding an impressive 8-2-1 over the past 11 games.

The Panthers will also enjoy some time at home for the holidays as they don’t play a game outside of Florida until Jan. 6 in Colorado.

Before shifting our focus to what lies ahead, here are the takeaways after Florida’s triumph in the Twin Cities:

EKBLAD GAINING STEAM

Much like the Panthers, Aaron Ekblad finished the road trip on a high note.

Ekblad has been getting more attention as his point totals have risen, but the veteran defenseman has remained one of the best-skilled blueliners around.

After failing to record a point in 14 of Florida’s first 17 games, Ekblad is now up to 18 points on the season.

He logged a goal and two assists against the Wild and is flourishing on both ends of the ice in all situations.

“Well, if he could hit the inside of the post instead of the outside, he'd have 35 goals by now. He is on an incredible run of hitting posts,” Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice joked. “I think he's got that balance. He was asked over the last two years to take a shutdown role and give up his power play time, play penalty kill only, and play against the other team’s best, and he dialed that right in. He was so good for us last year in the playoffs, and then he comes back into the power play, and he's got some confidence there, and now I think we'll see the full evolution of Aaron as a defenseman.”

ANOTHER SNIPE BY MACKIE

Panthers rookie Mackie Samoskevich is having a strong first season in the NHL.

He continues to show progress with his awareness and overall two-way game, but where he’s really turned heads is with his shot.

On Wednesday night, Samoskevich sped down the right wing and wired a perfectly placed puck over Marc Andre-Fleury’s blocker and into the top corner of the net.

He’s now up to six goals and 11 points through 28 games this season, but it’s the evolution of his all-around game that has the coaching staff excited.

“He’s come a long way, and he's a real interesting trajectory,” Maurice said. “So you won't remember the play, but in Edmonton last game, he went right across the ice, finished his check on Darnell Nurse, came out with the puck, went over to the other side, and did the exact same thing. That's probably not anything that he's been asked to do in his career, but he's doing it now. And he's got that release. He actually hasn't been very lucky offensively. He had a bunch of pucks he couldn't get a handle on, but that release is there. He is a world class shooter at his age right now.”

TOUGH ROADIE

It will be a nice treat for the Panthers to spend some time at home and sleep in their own beds for a while.

They return to South Florida feeling pretty good about how they finished their trip, taking down a pair of Western Conference powerhouses in their own barns.

The season is extremely long, and making progress while finding positivity is the name of the game.

“When you start, you want to go 5-0, but with respect to the teams and where they are in the standings, going into this trip, it's not easy going from Florida to the West Coast and working your way back,” Maurice said. “So, it's never about the numbers. I like the way we rebounded. The two losses are important to us, because we can learn from them, and I think in our last two games, we were really good against two very, very strong rush teams, and they had their chances, but we did a pretty good job limiting them.”

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