He has quietly excelled for the Panthers. It's time to talk about Eetu Luostarinen
Eetu Luostarinen isn't the household name on a Florida Panthers team filled with stars that is looking to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.
He doesn't have to be.
He's quiet. He's humble.
His performance on the ice, however, is speaking loud and clear.
Luostarinen, the 26-year-old left winger on Florida's third line, is already putting together a postseason to remember. In addition to his stellar defensive work, Luostarinen is tied for the team lead with 12 points through the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs. That's tied for seventh overall across the league this postseason entering the conference finals, where the Panthers will play the Carolina Hurricanes.
'I'm really happy for him,' said Anton Lundell, who has been linemates with Luostarinen for the better part of the past three seasons. 'Obviously, we've been playing a lot together. He's one of my best friends. It's cool to see how he steps up when the team kind of needs him the most. You can see he's got some confidence. He's always been a great player, and now it's just coming out.'
His production this postseason has mostly come in big moments.
In Florida's series-clinching win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, Luostarinen had four points (one goal, three assists).
In Florida's series-clinching win against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round, Luostarinen had three points (one goal, two assists).
Each of his past 11 points has come on the road — no other player has more road points so far this postseason.
'I'm just trying to be real reliable,' Luostarinen said, 'so that coach can put me on the on the ice whenever.'
Luostarinen has been reliable defensively since he joined the Panthers and became a regular in Florida's lineup in 2020 in the trade that sent Vincent Trocheck to the Hurricanes. Brought up as a center, Luostarinen saw his role increase starting in the 2022-23 season when he moved out to the wing, a position switch that gave him the chance to play top-nine forward minutes instead of being stuck on the fourth line because of the Panthers' center depth.
In the process, Luostarinen built chemistry with Lundell and has evolved into one of Florida's more reliable forwards on the penalty kill.
His offense, however, always seemed to have another level waiting to be unleashed. He has shown the potential to score goals — he has 50 along with 79 assists in 366 career regular-season games with Florida — but there always seemed to be another gear Luostarinen could unlock if given the opportunity.
'The role that I gave them stunted them,' Panthers coach Paul Maurice said of Luostarinen and Lundell.
Maurice said the trade-deadline addition of Brad Marchand, a 16-year NHL veteran who is as responsible defensively as he is a gifted scorer, helped Luostarinen and Lundell with their breakthrough.
'Brad comes in and says 'Hey, you can do all those things, but we can also make some plays,'' Maurice said.
And they have certainly made plays.
The line of Luostarinen, Lundell and Marchand has arguably been the Panthers' best through two playoff rounds. In just more than 117 and a half minutes together at 5-on-5 this postseason, the trio has outscored opponents 10-2 while at times playing against the opposition's top forward lines.
'I really like our game right now, especially our line,' Luostarinen said. 'We're working hard and keeping pretty simple — and we're getting rewarded.'
More Game 7 notables
▪ With the win, Marchand is now a perfect 5-0 against the Maple Leafs in winner-take-all Game 7s in his career and 8-5 in 13 Game 7s overall.
He is the only player in NHL history to have five Game 7 wins against one team and one of eight players to be part of eight Game 7 wins.
▪ Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is 3-0 in Game 7s and has stopped 75 of 80 shots in winner-take-all games for a .938 save percentage.
▪ Maurice is a perfect 6-0 as a head coach in Game 7s.
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