3 days ago
Paul Maurice provides update on 3 injured Panthers ahead of Game 5
The Florida Panthers gathered at the Baptist Health IcePlex on Tuesday morning following their first loss of the conference final the night before.
Before climbing aboard a flight back to Raleigh, a small group of Panthers players skated while others did off ice work, which is generally the case on travel days.
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Among that small group of skaters were a trio of notable names.
Injured players Sam Reinhart, A.J. Greer and Niko Mikkola were all on the ice Tuesday, a good sign toward either or all of them suiting up for Game 5, which is set for Wednesday night at Lenovo Center.
'They all skated today, we'll see how they are tomorrow,' said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. 'It's what we expected, it's what we hoped for.'
All three are expected to take part in Florida's morning skate in Raleigh, and from there, we'll see if Maurice is given the green light for any of them to play that night.
Reinhart was injured after taking a hit from Carolina's Sebastian Aho during Game 2, while both Mikkola and Greer suffered injuries during Game 3 in Sunrise.
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Jesper Boqvist has been filling in for Reinhart on Florida's top line and he'd be the one likely to come out if Reinhart is able to return.
Greer would reclaim his spot on the left side of the fourth line, where Nico Sturm lined up on Monday, and Mikkola would team back up with Seth Jones, moving Dmitry Kulikov to his usual spot next to Nate Schmidt and bump Uvis Balinskis back off the lineup card.
We'll see how they all look when they hit the ice on Wednesday.
Maurice did provide some signs of optimism, for what it's worth.
'We'll put them on the ice again tomorrow,' Maurice said. 'Maybe twice.'
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