The Florida Panthers are celebrating a series victory in the Eastern Conference Final for the third consecutive season, punching their ticket once again back into the Stanley Cup Final.
They defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in Wednesday night’s Game 5 by a 5-3 final score at Lenovo Center, becoming just the fourth NHL team in the last 50 years to appear in the Cup Final for a third straight season.
During the game, however, the Panthers lost forward Eetu Luostarinen after just 3:37 of playing time in the first period.
The latest update on his health from the team is leaning towards the optimistic as the Panthers look to rest up and get healthy for the Stanley Cup final.
Panthers’ Eetu Luostarinen Left After Taking A Nasty Cross-Check From Carolina’s William Carrier
Luostarinen was hurt after taking a cross-check from William Carrier in the first period. This wasn’t his first time getting banged up in this contest; he was also hurt after missing a hit on Carolina’s Mark Jankowski.
The good news for the Panthers is that, according to head coach Paul Maurice, Luostarinen isn’t expected to miss any time and should be available for the beginning of the Stanley Cup Final, which will start either June 4 or June 7.
“He should be fine,” Maurice said. “I’m not a doctor, but I know we’re not playing tomorrow or the next day. We don’t think it’s too serious. We think he’ll be right and ready for the Final.”
Luostarinen had been playing on Florida’s third line alongside Anton Lundell and Brad Marchand; during his absence on Wednesday, the team briefly moved fourth-line forward Tomas Nosek into his position.
He’s scored four goals with nine assists so far in 17 postseason games, along with an impressive +11 rating.
The Panthers Are Back In The Stanley Cup Final
Things didn’t start ideally for the Panthers on Wednesday. The game started precariously after the Hurricanes took a 2-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes of play.
But the Panthers scored five of the next six goals in the game, seizing victory that was sealed with veteran forward Sam Bennett’s empty-net goal late in regulation.
Ironically, they could very well be facing last season’s opponents, the Edmonton Oilers, in a grudge rematch. The Oilers hold a three-games-to-one series lead over the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final heading into Thursday night’s Game 5 in Dallas.
The Panthers likely won’t mind seeing the Stars win to prolong that series, as it could potentially give them up to nine days of rest to heal up for the Stanley Cup Final.
