It has been a difficult season for the Florida Panthers as they sit in seventh place in the Atlantic Division. Heading into their clash with the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night, the Panthers will be without Brad Marchand, as he is out with an injury that could require season-ending surgery.
Now, the Panthers will be more even shorthanded for their clash against the Red Wings, according to a report from NHL.com.
Star forward Sam Reinhart will be out for the game due to a lingering soft-tissue issue.
“We're trying to get ahead of this with Sam Reinhart,” Maurice said without going into detail on what his forward is dealing with. “We just had this unusual three-day block … and figured if we could add two more onto that, we may be able to manage this out.”
Reinhart played in Florida's last game, a 3-1 victory against the Red Wings, coming away with an assist in the game and playing 19:32. Reinhart has suited up for all 63 contests so far this year, finding the back of the net 28 times while adding 31 helpers, good for 59 points. All three of those marks lead the team.
While the 30-year old is off his scoring pace from the last two seasons, he has been the most consistent producer along with Marchand. The only other player with over 20 goals this season is Sam Bennett, who has 23 on the year.
With the Panthers not scheduled to play again until Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, letting Reinhart miss this game would give the forward nearly a week of rest between games to fix whatever is ailing him. He is expected to be back in the lineup for that tilt, per Maurice.
The Panthers are 31-29-3 on the campaign, placing them 11 points outside of a wildcard berth in the Eastern Conference. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday against the Red Wings.
