'Never be buddies': Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad addresses taunts by golfer Brooks Koepka

Mike Brehm, USA TODAY
·1 min read

LIV Golf star Brooks Koepka was spotted last Saturday at a Florida Panthers game holding up an orange traffic cone and yelling about defenseman Aaron Ekblad during a 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers.

Ekblad gave his reaction to the viral incident on Wednesday in Toronto, telling Sportsnet's Luke Fox: “We’re not buddies. Never be buddies.”

Koepka told GolfWRX's Matt Vincenzi that he did not bring the cone to the game.

"He gave up a bad goal," Koepka said about Ekblad. "It was a bad pass in the third. I'm a die-hard P's fan, and he gave up a bad goal."

NHL STRETCH DRIVE: Central Division lead on the line as Wild, Avalanche meet

Koepka added, "I just felt like if they didn't win that game they weren't going to make the playoffs. Dedicated fan, man."

The Panthers, who won the Presidents' Trophy last season as the top regular-season team, have been inconsistent this season. They briefly moved into the second wild-card spot early last week, passing the Pittsburgh Penguins.

But Florida has lost four games in a row since then and is three points out of a playoff spot heading into Wednesday's game at the Maple Leafs.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brooks Koepka taunted Panthers' Aaron Ekblad, and both responded

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • A Gen X mom makes $25,000 at Applebee's and can only afford one meal a day. She's one of many Americans who live paycheck to paycheck but don't qualify for government help.

    Cherie Tobias, 48, can't afford groceries but doesn't qualify for government assistance.

  • Freight train derailment, fire forces Interstate 40 closure near Arizona-New Mexico line

    A freight train carrying fuel derailed and caught fire Friday near the Arizona-New Mexico state line, forcing the closure of interstate highway that serves as a key trucking route. No injuries were reported in the midday train wreck east of Houck, the Arizona Department of Transportation said in a news release. Interstate 40 was closed by authorities in both directions in the area in the early afternoon, directing trucks and motorists off the freeway to alternate routes, New Mexico State Police and the Arizona Department of Public Safety announced.

  • Ellen DeGeneres breaks silence on talk show's 'devastating' end 2 years ago: Reports

    Two years after "The Ellen DeGeneres Show's" finale, the comedian opened up about how she felt after a report detailed a toxic workplace on set.

  • Can Trump Really Kill His Rival? The Supreme Court Says, Hmm

    Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesDonald Trump’s presidency has served as a wake-up call that our Constitution and our laws were not designed to handle an authoritarian like him. And Thursday’s Supreme Court hearing on presidential immunity was yet another reminder of that fact.It’s dangerous to try and divine the court’s opinion based on oral arguments; however, the consensus seems to be heading in a direction that says that a president should be immune from prose

  • Editorial: Health Care Crisis

    Editorial: Health Care Crisis

  • Hailey Van Lith is headed to TCU for a final season after a one-year run with LSU

    Hailey Van Lith, who joined LSU this past season and reached the Elite Eight with the defending national champion before a loss to Caitlin Clark and Iowa, is transferring to TCU for her fifth and final season. Van Lith spent her first three seasons with Louisville, reaching a Final Four and another Elite Eight before deciding to join four-time champion coach Kim Mulkey's team at LSU.

  • Why can’t Sechelt Airport operate at night?

    The following are briefs from District of Sechelt’s April 16 Airport Development Select Committee. Sechelt recently hired a professional airport advisor who pointed out potential issues at the airport, district communications manager Lindsay Vickers told Coast Reporter. They stated that the airport is unsafe for night flights because the reduced visibility affecting depth perception combined with the surrounding trees is dangerous. Planes using the airport approach and depart relying solely on p

  • Heated moments at Pro-Palestine protest at ASU

    Heated protests sparked at ASU over the Hamas-Israel conflict in the Middle East.

  • Great Britain's Whitehouse retains European floor title

    Great Britain's Luke Whitehouse wins gold at the Gymnastics European Championships in Rimini, Italy as he retains his floor title.

  • Callander, Free Cycle weekend returns

    “One man’s rubbish may be another’s treasure.” So wrote Hector Urquhart in his introduction to The Popular Tales of the West Highlands. His rubbish referred to how some folk thought of these popular tales. This weekend’s rubbish may be a nice lamp. Callander’s Free Cycle weekend is back. It’s that time of year when folks bring their items to the curb, and if those items catch the eye of a passer-by, said item could be off your hands and out of your garage. We’re talking lamps, coffee tables, toy

  • Tornado tears through Nebraska, causing severe damage in Omaha suburbs

    OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A tornado plowed through suburban Omaha, Nebraska, on Friday afternoon, destroying homes and other structures as the twister tore for miles along farmland and into subdivisions. Injuries were reported but it wasn’t yet clear if anyone was killed in the storm. Multiple tornadoes were reported in Nebraska but the most destructive storm moved from a largely rural area into suburbs northwest of Omaha, a city of 485,000 people. Photos on social media showed heavily damaged homes an

  • King Charles III's return to public duties is 'significant,' analyst says

    A royal expert from King's College London, Dr George Gross feels the announcement by Buckingham Palace that King Charles III will resume his public duties next week following treatment for cancer is significant after his long absence.

  • Golden Knights have limited Stars' scoring chances to take 2-0 series lead

    LAS VEGAS (AP) — The problems for Dallas are two-fold — the Stars aren't getting great scoring chances and for long stretches aren't even putting the puck on net. That's primarily why the Golden Knights are back in Las Vegas with a 2-0 lead in the first-round NHL playoffs series. Game 3 is Saturday night (10:30 p.m. EDT, TBS). In Game 1, a 4-3 Dallas loss, the Stars didn't get a shot on goal in the second period until 8:52 into it. Vegas closed out the 3-1 victory in Game 2 by holding Dallas wit

  • Reba McEntire to host ACM Awards for 17th time, talks fan diversity in country music

    Reba McEntire is set to host the Academy of Country Music Awards for a record 17th time. The music legend also talks about the discussion Beyoncé's “Cowboy Carter” album has created about the lack of diversity among fans and singers in country music. (April 26) (AP Production by Gary Gerard Hamilton)

  • Blue Jays pitching prospect Ricky Tiedemann out with nerve inflammation in elbow

    TORONTO — Blue Jays pitching prospect Ricky Tiedemann will miss about seven to 10 more days with a sore elbow. Toronto manager John Schneider said on Friday that the 21-year-old left-hander has ulnar nerve inflammation. The diagnosis comes after Tiedemann met with team doctors earlier this week. "No second opinions on anything," said Schneider. "I'm confident he'll be back throwing again pretty soon." Schneider said it was the "best possible news" after the triple-A Buffalo Bisons put him on the

  • Helping Baltimore residents build towards home ownership

    A lot of us put our heart and soul into making our homes our own. But these soon-to-be homeowners are putting in a lot more than that. Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake and Bank of America volunteers worked on building five homes in South Baltimore's Curtis Bay neighborhood.

  • Car chase suspect renews concern over proposed Stuart sober house

    An Arkansas man arrested in a high speed crash in Palm City is renewing calls for concern from the Martin County Sheriff's Office over a proposed sober home in Stuart.

  • The 'peak boomer' crisis might only get worse: A fifth of Americans 50 and up have no retirement savings, and the majority are worried they won't have enough money

    Many Americans headed toward retirement don't have the funds. It could contribute to the peak boomer crisis.

  • Former Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard hired as Brooklyn Nets assistant, per report

    A month after Michigan fired him as head basketball coach, Juwan Howard is reportedly returning to the NBA as an assistant coach for the Nets.

  • Ontario Elite Wrestling slams into Callander

    Wrestling returns to Callander, and this time it’s “Runnin’ Wild.” Ontario Elite Wrestling is bringing the action back to the Community Centre this Saturday for some epic bouts sure to ignite the fans. The show is “Running’ Wild,” and the lineup is filled with a host of wrestlers ready to rumble – Seleziya, The Heartbreakers, Matt Black and Vinnie Davinci, “The Steel City Saint,” to name a few. “The fans are lively in Callander,” said Steve Lavictoire, Ontario Elite Wrestling founder. He discove