Defending champion Panthers keep winning even without Tkachuk, Ekblad and before Marchand debuts

Matthew Tkachuk has not been on the ice for the Florida Panthers since early February, Aaron Ekblad is not eligible to play again until Game 3 of the first round of the postseason , and Brad Marchand still hasn't debuted with his new team since joining at the trade deadline.

Those are big holes down the stretch, and yet they keep on rolling. The Panthers won nine of their first 14 games since the NHL season resumed after the 4 Nations Face-Off break and remain atop the Atlantic Division with 11 left to play.

Seth Jones has fit in perfectly since they acquired him from Chicago, and the defending Stanley Cup champions look primed for another playoff run.

“That’s the way it goes," said Sam Bennett, whose 12 points over this span are tied with captain Aleksander Barkov for second-most on the roster behind Sam Reinhart (13). "You’re going to be down important guys at important times of the year. In the playoffs, especially, there’s going to be times that you lose guys and it’s up to us to step up and every guy’s got to play a little harder, play a little bigger when we have those really important guys out of our lineup.”

Tkachuk, Florida's heart-and-soul top forward, was injured playing for the U.S. at the 4 Nations on Feb. 15. Ekblad, the top-four defenseman in his 11th season in the league, was suspended 20 games on March 10 for performance-enhancing drugs.

And the team knew Marchand would not be available right away after getting hurt March 1 in what turned out to be his final game with the Boston Bruins. Coach Paul Maurice said the 36-year-old was skating hard and could be back as soon as the end of this week, if not early April.

Even without those guys, the Panthers have allowed opponents to score just two goals a game during this stretch — tied for the fewest in the NHL.

“What separates them and why I think they’re the best defending team in the league is they protect the net front and the slot better than anybody in the NHL for my money,” Washington Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said before his team beat Florida on Saturday. “And that’s partly the way that their structure is, so the system, but also the commitment to win your 1-on-1 (matchups) and protect that area is elite, elite, elite.”

Maurice thinks the Panthers have handled the situation really well, absent a clunker of a 3-1 defeat at Montreal. After losing to Washington, the affable coach who has been behind the bench for over 2,000 NHL games deadpanned that despite a sub-.500 road trip, "We won’t fold the season.”

Overall, he has been pleased.

“We’ve been pretty good,” Maurice said. “We’ve played playoff games without Bennett, without Barkov — with 2out a number of players. ... We just have some experience with it.”

Since hiring Maurice and trading for Tkachuk in the summer of 2023, Florida has won seven of eight playoff series while making back-to-back trips to the final and captured the first championship in franchise history. The hope is to do more of that after getting Marchand and Jones, who has been playing big minutes — over 25 a game — in Ekblad's absence.

“He’s been great," forward Jonah Gadjovich said of Jones. "He’s been great on the ice and off the ice. He’s a great guy, obviously a great player, as well, so we’re so happy to have him and his leadership around the locker room.”

Inside the locker room, Gadjovich said being without top players is no excuse, so he and his teammates are not treating it as such.

“Obviously we’re down a lot of guys right now, and I think we’re looking forward to having them back whenever they come back," he said. “Whoever’s in the lineup just has to do their job. We all know how to play. We all know Panther hockey and what’s expected of us.”

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Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov, right, celebrates after his winning overtime goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets with teammate defenseman Seth Jones, left, in an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice, center top, watches his team against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

Florida Panthers left wing Jonah Gadjovich, right, celebrates after his goal with defenseman Nate Schmidt (88) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) acknowledges the crowd after the Panthers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov acknowledges the crowd after being recognized for scoring the game-winning goal in a shootout in an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) celebrates after his goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Costa Rican authorities announced Tuesday that they will continue to investigate the cause of death of the teenage son of former Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner as they ruled out asphyxiation as the reason.

The 14-year-old Miller Gardner died Friday while staying with his family at a hotel on the Manuel Antonio beach in Costa Rica’s Central Pacific.

Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency told The Associated Press that on Thursday evening, members of the Gardner family went to dinner outside the hotel and began feeling ill upon returning.

They initially received treatment from the hotel doctor.

“The following morning, a family member found the child with no vital signs and alerted authorities,” the judicial police said.

The judicial agency explained that asphyxiation was initially considered as the cause of death, but after an autopsy performed by the Forensic Pathology Section, that theory was ruled out.

“No abnormalities were found in the respiratory tract, so samples were sent for histological, toxicological, and neuropathological analysis to the OIJ forensic laboratories, in addition to a study at the Costa Rican Institute for Research and Teaching in Nutrition and Health (INCIENSA) at the University of Costa Rica (UCR),” the report states.

The Judicial Investigation Agency stated that the death remains under investigation and its conclusions could take two to three months.

Brett Gardner, 41, was drafted by the Yankees in 2005 and spent his entire big league career with the organization. The speedy outfielder batted .256 with 139 homers, 578 RBIs, 274 steals and 73 triples in 14 seasons from 2008-2021.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

FILE - New York Yankees' Brett Gardner walks off the field after being defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays in a baseball game on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)