Florida Panthers’ Ryan Lomberg out for rest of series against Boston Bruins with upper-body injury

Panthers head coach Paul Maurice confirmed the injury on Friday morning when speaking to the media ahead of Game 6 against the Bruins. Lomberg had missed Game 5 with the injury, so there was already a known issue, but the timeline for return won’t be until at least the second round if the Panthers are able to come back and win their series.

Lomberg likely would have suffered the injury during Game 4 on Sunday, as that was the last game he played. However, he did play 11:46 in the game, which is on par for his usage for this series, so either he was able to play through the injury and finish the game, or it occurred off the ice between Games 4 and 5.

Lomberg will finish this series going pointless through four games, taking on more of a pest role with his 18 penalty minutes, even going a bit too far by choking Bruins center Trent Frederic during Game 2. Lomberg did have a career year offensively during the regular season with 12 goals, 8 assists, and 20 points in 82 games.

Lomberg is an undrafted player, making his way into the NHL by originally signing an AHL deal with the Calgary Flames organization, playing two seasons with the Flames before signing with the Panthers in free agency in 2020. He is currently in the first year of a two-year contract with an $800,000 cap hit, one he signed as an extension early in the 2021-22 season.

The Panthers find themselves in tough in their series with the Bruins, needing to win three straight games to come back from the 3-1 deficit they dug themselves into against a record-setting team. They’ve already chipped away at it with their 4-3 overtime win on Wednesday, but still need to win two more to finish the job.