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Wayne Gretzky Makes His Opinion of Panthers' Injury Problem Crystal Clear

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated May 26, 2025 8:20 AM ET

The Florida Panthers are one win away from their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearance.

NHL legend Wayne Gretzky believes the absence of Sam Reinhart, who missed the last Panthers victory on Saturday, remains significant even with Florida dominating the series against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Reinhart missed Game 3 with a lower-body injury after taking a low hit from Carolina’s Sebastian Aho in Game 2. Florida went on to defeat the Hurricanes 6-2 on Saturday, extending their series lead to 3-0.

Speaking during a segment of "NHL on TNT," Gretzky emphasized Reinhart’s value and his importance for the Panthers' aspirations of winning back-to-back championships.

Florida looks like the defending champs so far but @WayneGretzky thinks Sam Reinhart's absence is looming large on the Cats

That + Wayne's keys for Carolina to get back into the series ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/bCNU9pQLvP
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) May 24, 2025

"I know everybody's saying the right things, next man up, and we'll put this guy in and we're comfortable with him," Gretzky said. "But Reinhart is one of the best players in the National Hockey League.

"He's a two-way player. He takes face-offs and kills penalties. He's tremendous on the power play."

Gretzky added that Reinhart’s skill set isn’t easily replaceable.

"It's going to be hard to replace a guy like that," Gretzky said. "They're going to need everybody jumping in. One guy just doesn't replace Reinhart, though."

In Game 3, Jesper Boqvist drew into the lineup for Reinhart and delivered a strong performance. He scored once, added two assists, and finished with a plus-4 rating.

Reinhart, meanwhile, finished the regular season with 81 points in 79 games and has added 11 points in 14 postseason games through Saturday's Game 3.

Game 4 is set for Monday in Sunrise, FL, where Florida will try to close out the series. Teams leading 3-0 in a best-of-seven are 208-4 all-time. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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