{"id":209758,"date":"2026-03-28T17:11:42","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T17:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/209758\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T17:11:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T17:11:42","slug":"what-if-how-the-florida-panthers-would-look-today-without-the-injuries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/209758\/","title":{"rendered":"What If? How the Florida Panthers Would Look Today without the Injuries"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the Florida Panthers lined up to play the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night, they looked a lot different than people may have been accustomed.<\/p>\n

Sasha Barkov has been out all season, we get that.<\/p>\n

But without the likes of Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell, Niko Mikkola, Mackie Samoskevich, Jonah Gadjovich, Brad Marchand, the Panthers just look, well, different.<\/p>\n

So, how should they look right now?<\/p>\n

Few teams go through the course of an NHL season without an injuries. That\u2019s part of the game.<\/p>\n

But the Panthers have gone through a year of catastrophic ones.<\/p>\n

This is not normal.<\/p>\n

And it is why the Panthers, who are still your two-time defending Stanley Cup champions until the math says they are not, are 14 points behind the Islanders (whom they play today at 1) for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n

With 11 games left, the math does not look good.<\/p>\n

Per HockeyMagicNumbers.com<\/a>, the Panthers \u2018tragic\u2019 number is nine points before they are officially eliminated from the playoffs.<\/p>\n

A regulation loss today would bring that number down to seven points \u2014 and it could be lower depending on what happens elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cGames are not fun when you\u2019re in this position,\u201d Matthew Tkachuk said after Thursday\u2019s 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild in the final seconds. \u201cI have never been in this position before, and I don\u2019t want to be back in this position. Hopefully this is a one-off last stretch and we can get back to where we\u2019ve been the last few years.\u201d<\/p>\n

FHN: Paul Maurice Says Playing for the Panthers is Dangerous Business<\/a><\/p>\n

But, what if the Panthers were healthy.<\/p>\n

Not just today, but for much of the season.<\/p>\n

Tkachuk was always going to have surgery over the summer to fix his groin\/sports hernia issues. But he returned in January, and, if it was just Tkachuk out of the lineup for the opening months, the Panthers probably would have been OK.<\/p>\n

But Barkov blowing out his right knee on his first day of training camp was a killer. Losing Seth Jones, Dmitry Kulikov, Gadjovich, et al, only added to the misery.<\/p>\n

So, let us pretend that Barkov never got hurt. Tkachuk is back as he has been for a few months, and Lundell, Mikkola, Marchand, and Reinhart are all good to go.<\/p>\n

Oh, and Evan Rodrigues is now the 10th player on the injured list after he broke a finger on his first shift Thursday.<\/p>\n

How would the Panthers lineup today against the Islanders?<\/p>\n

They would certainly look a lot more daunting, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n

It would not fly under the salary cap, either.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not today\u2019s problem. With all the injuries, the Panthers now have plenty of cap space<\/a>. There\u2019s just nowhere to spend it.<\/p>\n

Below is what Florida\u2019s projected lineup would have looked like barring any major injuries \u2014 and what it will look like later this afternoon on Long Island.<\/p>\n

FLORIDA PANTHERS LINES IF HEALTHY<\/p>\n

23 Carter Verhaeghe \/\/ 16 Sasha Barkov \/\/ 13 Sam Reinhart<\/p>\n

11 Mackie Samoskevich \/\/ 9 Sam Bennett \/\/ 19 Matthew Tkachuk<\/p>\n

27 Eetu Luostarinen \/\/ 15 Anton Lundell \/\/ 63 Brad Marchand<\/p>\n

10 A.J. Greer^ \/\/ 17 Evan Rodrigues \/\/ 12 Jonah Gadjovich<\/p>\n

42 Gus Forsling \/\/ 5 Aaron Ekblad<\/p>\n

77 Niko Mikkola \/\/ 3 Seth Jones<\/p>\n

26 Uvis Balinskis \/\/ 7 Dmitry Kulikov<\/p>\n

72 Sergei Bobrovsky<\/p>\n

40 Daniil Tarasov<\/p>\n

Scratched: Jesper Boqvist, Tomas Nosek, Jeff Petry*<\/p>\n

*Petry was traded to the Wild at the deadline with the Panthers out of the playoff race. With this lineup, they\u2019re right in the thick of things. So, no trade.<\/p>\n

^Greer has been suspended for three games which ends today.<\/p>\n

Italics indicate currently injured<\/p>\n

Underlined indicates missed considerable time this season but has returned<\/p>\n

PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS (35-33-3) LINES at ISLANDERS<\/p>\n

23 Carter Verhaeghe \/\/ 9 Sam Bennett \/\/ 19 Matthew Tkachuk<\/p>\n

70 Jesper Boqvist \/\/ 27 Eetu Luostarinen \/\/ 11 Mackie Samoskevich<\/p>\n

29 Cole Reinhardt \/\/ 92 Tomas Nosek \/\/ 24 Vinnie Hinstroza<\/p>\n

25 Nolan Foote \/\/ 71 Luke Kunin \/\/ 18 Noah Gregor<\/p>\n

42 Gus Forsling \/\/ 5 Aaron Ekblad<\/p>\n

7 Dmitry Kulikov \/\/ 3 Seth Jones<\/p>\n

6 Donovan Sebrango \/\/ 20 Mike Benning<\/p>\n

72 Sergei Bobrovsky<\/p>\n

40 Daniil Tarasov<\/p>\n

Scratched: None<\/p>\n

Suspended: A.J. Greer (3\/3)<\/p>\n

Injured: Evan Rodrigues (broken finger), Sam Reinhart (foot), Niko Mikkola (knee), Anton Lundell (upper body), Cole Schwindt (lower body), Uvis Balinskis (fractured foot), Brad Marchand (lower body), Sasha Barkov (knee), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body)<\/p>\n

Additional Players: If the Panthers had not had so many injuries, they would not have had to claim Sebrango off waivers when Kulikov got hurt, or traded for Hinostroza, for instance. Players such as Gregor, Kunin, Benning, and Foote also would likely be in Charlotte.<\/p>\n

ON DECK: GAME No. 72
\nFLORIDA PANTHERS at NEW YORK ISLANDERS\u00a0<\/p>\n

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