The Florida Panthers will face the Detroit Red Wings at Amerant Bank Arena on March 10, following a recent 3-1 victory over Detroit. The Panthers, who are currently at 31-29-3, will play without their top two scorers, Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand, due to injuries.
This matchup is significant as both teams are contending for playoff positions. The Panthers are looking to build momentum after ending a four-game losing streak, while the Red Wings aim to maintain their edge in the Atlantic Division standings.
Defenseman Aaron Ekblad said of the previous game against Detroit, “I thought we took care of business in our own zone. Bob (Sergei Bobrovsky) made some unbelievable saves that kept us in it, and we scored some goals for him.” Matthew Tkachuk contributed three goals during Friday’s win, marking his sixth career regular-season hat trick. Bobrovsky stopped 28 of 29 shots in that game. Ekblad added about Bobrovsky’s performance: “You could really tell Bob was seeing it from the very beginning of the game.”
Head coach Paul Maurice addressed Reinhart’s absence: “You play nine (games) in 15 (days), you go to Italy (for the Winter Olympics), you come back and play six in nine, you’re going to get those (injuries). Now, we’re starting to deal with them.” Maurice also commented on Aleksander Barkov joining Tuesday’s morning skate: “He’s out of that bubble wrap. He can move around. If somebody bumps into him, nobody is going to — well, I’m going to catch my breath — but nobody else will. He’ll be fine. It’s fun having him out there.” Ekblad shared his thoughts on Barkov’s return: “It was nice. He’s moving well. It’s great to see him out there. Passing pucks back and forth in the beginning of the skate was nice. It kind of felt like being kids with him again back in the day.”
With Reinhart and Marchand sidelined, Luke Kunin and Vinnie Hinostroza will join the lineup against Detroit; Hinostroza returns after previously playing for Florida during the 2020-21 season. Daniil Tarasov is set to start as goaltender for Florida.
The Red Wings enter this contest holding a one-point lead over Montreal for third place in their division and recently defeated New Jersey 3-0 on Sunday despite an injury to goaltender John Gibson. Lucas Raymond leads Detroit with 65 points this season.
Looking ahead, Reinhart may return as soon as Thursday’s game against Columbus.
