Panthers Forward Sidelined After Barbecue Accident

Luostarinen missed Florida’s last game against the Vancouver Canucks with what was described as a lower-body injury. He’ll be out for tomorrow’s massive tilt against the Eastern Conference-leading New Jersey Devils.

Luostarinen’s Always Been Available

With Luostarinen sidelined, the Panthers will be without another one of their forwards for the foreseeable future. Through 18 games, the 27-year-old Finnish center had put up a respectable 10 points — three goals and seven assists. He also carried a plus/minus of plus-three, the second-highest mark on the team and a sign of how reliable he’s been at both ends of the ice.

This accident will most likely end a streak of Luostarinen playing in at least 78 or more games over the past four seasons. Starting with the 2021-22 campaign, the Panthers have always been able to count on his availability. In fact, he appeared in all 82 regular-season contests in 2022-23 and 2023-24, and then 80 a year ago. And given that Florida has been on three long playoff runs the past three seasons – with the last two resulting in Stanley Cups – Luostarinen’s reliability has been a fantastic facet of his game.

The Injury-Addled Panthers

The Panthers’ defense of their back-to-back championships has gotten off to a rocky start, and a major reason for that has been the injuries they’ve had to deal with.

As well as Luostarinen’s injury, Maurice announced that Cole Schwindt broke his arm in the team’s game against the Canucks and will require surgery. He’ll be sidelined for two to three months.

Matthew Tkachuk had surgery for a torn abductor muscle and sports hernia and is out until at least December. Meanwhile, the team’s captain, Aleksander Barkov, tore multiple ligaments in his knee and is presumably out for the rest of the season. The team is also dealing with long-term injuries to center Tomas Nosek and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov.

All in all, the Panthers could really use a reprieve from the ailments. Nonetheless, they’ll have to manage with the cards they’ve been dealt.