Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad will likely miss the rest of the regular season with an undisclosed injury, but coach Paul Maurice firmly believes the veteran will return for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Ekblad played only 7:16 before leaving Tuesday's loss at Montreal after a skirmish with Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky late in the first period.

"I don't think he plays the rest of the regular season," Maurice told reporters. "But we are quite confident that he's 100% and ready to go by the first game [of the playoffs].