The Florida Panthers will be without their top defenseman for the foreseeable future. Aaron Ekblad has been placed on long-term injured reserve after sustaining a groin injury on Monday against the Boston Bruins. He will be out a minimum of 10 games or 24 days, whichever is the longer length of time, so the earliest he can return is Nov. 12 against the Edmonton Oilers. Panthers general manager Bill Zito on Wednesday said he did not have an exact timetable for Ekblad’s return but did say the injury is “not a season-ending thing.” “We have every reason to believe he’ll be back at 100 percent,” Z…