RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice expects to have Sam Reinhart, Niko Mikkola and A.J. Greer back in the lineup for Wednesday night’s Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes.
All three missed Game 4, a shutout loss Monday night at home that allowed the Hurricanes to avert a sweep and extend the season.
“We expect them all to play tonight,” Maurice said Wednesday.
Reinhart left Thursday’s Game 2 in the first period after a low hit by Carolina’s Sebastian Aho. Greer appeared to injure himself delivering a hit on Jordan Staal in Game 3, while Mikkola was shaken up after crashing hard into the boards — his right shoulder hitting first — that same night.
Carolina, meanwhile, seems likely again to be without two of its top six defensemen in Jalen Chatfield and Sean Walker. Chatfield hasn’t played since Game 4 of the second-round series against conference top seed Washington, missing five straight games with an apparent lower-body injury.
Walker has missed the past two games since taking a jarring. open-ice hit from Greer in Game 2.
Coach Rod Brind’Amour was unsure whether either could be an option for this series if the Hurricanes somehow pushed it far enough.
“I was hopeful Chatfield being more day to day, but he just still hasn’t got in there with us,” Brind’Amour said. “Until he’s out there I guess practicing with us, he’s not an option. Walker, same thing.”
The blue-liner injuries have led Carolina to force top prospect Alexander Nikishin into the lineup. His first three NHL games have all come in the postseason, on the road, and he tallied his first NHL point with a terrific pass that sprung Logan Stankoven for Monday’s first goal.