Matthew Tkachuk scored once in a three-point outing while Aaron Ekblad collected one goal and one assist in his return to the lineup to pace the visiting Florida Panthers to a 7-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.

Tkachuk scored a power-play goal on two shots and added two assists in Saturday's 7-2 win over the Sharks. Tkachuk set up Aaron Ekblad's game-winner late in the first period before adding a pair of points as the Panthers solidified their lead in the second.

Adin Hill made 32 saves, Tanner Pearson had his first game-winning goal of the season and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Sunday night.

After splitting the first half of a four-game west coa​​st road trip with a win 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday and 2-1 defeat to the Los Angeles Kings the following night, the Florida Panthers sit three points back of the Toronto Maple Leafs for first in the Atlantic Division.

Skating against the struggling San Jose Sharks, Florida was dominant for much of the night, eventually earning an impressive 7-2 victory. It took less than six minutes for the Panthers to get the scoring started on Saturday against the Sharks.

Ekblad (upper body) will play Saturday against San Jose, according to Doug Plagens of the Panthers Radio Network. Ekblad missed eight of the last nine games, including seven straight outings.

After missing each of the last seven games, top-pair defenseman Aaron Ekblad will return to the blue line for the Florida Panthers when they face-off against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday.

Cody Ceci and Will Smith scored for the Sharks (14-32-6), who have lost six straight and nine of ten. Alexandar Georgiev allowed four goals on 15 shots before being pulled early in the second period for Yaroslav Askarov, who stopped 14 of 17 shots in relief.

Ekblad (upper body) practiced Friday and head coach Paul Maurice said "there's a chance" the defenseman plays Saturday versus the Sharks. Ekblad was on the top pairing during the practice session ...

Read the recent NHL news and rumors about Aaron Ekblad for fantasy hockey. Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (upper body) is good to go