Panthers' Evan Rodrigues: Dealing with lower-body injury
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Rodrigues sustained a lower-body injury in the third period of Wednesday's game versus the Kings, Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site reports.
Rodrigues had to leave the game, and no further update beyond the nature of his injury was provided. Head coach Paul Maurice didn't believe the injury would be significant, but Rodrigues will be evaluated Thursday. His status for Friday versus the Hurricanes is up in the air.
Forsling (undisclosed) will be in the lineup versus Los Angeles on Wednesday, George Richards of Florida Hockey Now reports.
Forsling won't miss additional time after leaving Monday's 5-2 win over Tampa Bay early. He hasn't scored a goal in 10 straight games while recording a mere 10 shots, including three consecutive outings without registering a single puck on net. The 29-year-old Swede will face an uphill battle in reaching the 10-goal mark for the fifth straight campaign, which may impact his chances of hitting the 30-point threshold for a fifth consecutive season. He has 14 points, 26 hits and 37 blocked shots through 32 appearances this season.
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Panthers' Daniil Tarasov: Expected to start Wednesday
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Tarasov is expected to start at home against the Kings on Wednesday, per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now.
Tarasov will be looking for a better result after stopping 36 of 42 shots en route to a 6-2 loss to Colorado in his last start Thursday. He's 3-5-1 with a 2.84 GAA and a .903 save percentage in 10 appearances this season. The Kings rank 28th in goals per game with 2.59.
Marchand scored a goal, added two PIM, logged two hits and went plus-2 in Monday's 5-2 win over the Lightning.
Marchand has four points, including three goals, over his last two games. His tally Monday was also the game-winner, his second such goal this season. Overall, the 37-year-old winger has 19 goals, 35 points, 87 shots, 24 PIM, 20 hits and a minus-4 rating through 31 appearances.
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Panthers' Anton Lundell: Tallies in Monday's win
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Lundell scored a goal, added two hits, blocked two shots and went plus-2 in Monday's 5-2 win over the Lightning.
Lundell continues to play well in December, earning four goals and three assists over eight games this month. The first-line center is up to 10 goals, 26 points, 71 shots on net, 37 hits, 26 blocked shots and a minus-3 rating over 32 appearances. He's on pace to reach the 20-goal and 50-point marks for the first time in his career, and he's trending toward personal bests in most major fantasy categories.
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Panthers' Uvis Balinskis: Two helpers against Tampa
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Balinskis notched two assists in Monday's 5-2 win over the Lightning.
It's the second multi-point performance of the season for Balinskis, with the other coming Nov. 24 against the Predators. The 29-year-old KHL veteran is in his third NHL season and continues to supply solid minutes from the Panthers' third pairing, delivering a goal and seven points in 23 games with 34 hits, 19 shots on net, 13 blocked shots and a plus-3 rating. Gustav Forsling (undisclosed) was injured blocking a shot Monday, and if he's forced to miss any time, Balinskis could see his role expand in the short term.
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Panthers' Aaron Ekblad: Two helpers in Monday's win
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Ekblad produced two assists, one shorthanded, in Monday's 5-2 win over the Lightning.
The 29-year-old helped set up tallies by Sam Reinhart early in the first period and Brad Marchand midway through the second, with the latter proving to be the game-winner. It was Ekblad's first multi-point performance since Oct. 11, and with Seth Jones dominating power-play minutes among Florida defensemen, offense has been tough to come by for the rest of the team's blue-line crew. Through 31 games this season, Ekblad has just one goal and 10 points with 55 blocked shots, 46 shots on net, 34 hits, 20 PIM and a minus-7 rating.
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Panthers' Carter Verhaeghe: Two-point effort against Bolts
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Verhaeghe picked up a goal and an assist in Monday's 5-2 win over the Lightning.
After having a hand in what proved to be the game-winner by Brad Marchand midway through the second period, Verhaeghe found the back of the net himself in the third. Verhaeghe has five multi-point performances in his last 10 games, a sizzling stretch in which he's racked up eight goals and 16 points.
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Panthers' Sam Reinhart: Shines on special teams in win
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Reinhart scored two goals, one shorthanded and one on the power play, in Monday's 5-2 win over the Lightning.
It's the fourth time in his career Reinhart has found the back of the net while Florida's been both a man up and a man down, establishing a new franchise record. The veteran winger has been locked in for more than a month, getting onto the scoresheet in 14 of the last 17 games while piling up 10 goals and 24 points. Six of Reinhart's tallies during that heater have come on special teams -- four on the power play, and two shorthanded.
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Panthers' Sergei Bobrovsky: Collects fourth straight win
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Bobrovsky made 26 saves in Monday's 5-2 win over the Lightning.
The Panthers jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Bobrovsky saw a possible second straight shutout slip away late in the second period. The two-time Vezina winner has won four straight starts, allowing 11 goals on 104 shots over that stretch, and on the season Bobrovsky sports a 14-8-1 record with a 2.80 GAA and .888 save percentage -- ratios well off his usual pace.
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Panthers' Gustav Forsling: Hurt in Tampa Bay
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Forsling suffered an undisclosed injury during the third period of Monday's 5-2 win over Tampa Bay, and head coach Paul Maurice didn't have an update on the blueliner's status postgame, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.
Forsling left the game after blocking a shot on a Lightning power play, according to Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site. The 29-year-old Forsling is set to be evaluated when the Panthers return home. Florida will begin a three-game homestand versus the Kings on Wednesday.
Panthers' Sergei Bobrovsky: Starting against Tampa Bay
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Bobrovsky will defend the road crease against Tampa Bay on Monday.
Bobrovsky is coming off his third shutout win of the season Saturday in Dallas, and he'll attempt to carry his momentum against the Lightning, who are scoring 3.25 goals per game this year, which is tied for seventh in the league. Bobrovsky is in the midst of a three-game winning streak, during which he's allowed nine goals on 76 shots.
Reinhart logged two assists, three shots on goal and two hits in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Stars.
Reinhart has two goals and five assists through seven contests in December. He hasn't had to lead the way on offense as the Panthers have been getting contributions from many of their key forwards. He's now at 30 points (15 goals, 15 assists) with 78 shots on net, 29 hits, 22 blocked shots and a minus-9 rating over 31 appearances.
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Panthers' Sam Bennett: Reaches 10-goal mark
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Bennett scored a goal on two shots and added two hits in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Stars.
Bennett has been dynamic in December with four goals and five assists over seven contests. The 29-year-old gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead with his second-period tally. He's up to 10 goals, 21 points, 70 shots on net, 61 hits, 24 PIM and an even plus-minus rating through 31 outings. Bennett is on pace to reach the 20-goal mark for the fourth time in five full years with the Panthers.
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Panthers' Anton Lundell: Goal, assist in win
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Lundell scored a goal on three shots, dished an assist, added two hits and went plus-2 in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Stars.
Lundell earned his first multi-point effort since Nov. 22 versus the Oilers. The 24-year-old center's opening goal 19 seconds into the second period was the game-winner, and he set up Brad Marchand for the empty-netter. Lundell now has nine goals, 25 points, 70 shots on net, 35 hits, 24 blocked shots and a minus-5 rating through 31 appearances. Lundell has a decent chance of topping the 20-goal and 50-point marks for the first time in his career.
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Panthers' Brad Marchand: Leads way with three points
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Marchand scored two goals -- one on the power play and the other into an empty net -- and added one assist in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Stars.
Marchand had the Panthers' last two goals of the game, including a back-breaker late in the second period. He had gone three contests without a point after racking up four points versus the Blue Jackets last Saturday. Marchand was consistent in November but has turned explosive on offense at times in December. He's up to 18 goals, 16 helpers, 86 shots on net, 18 hits, 22 PIM and a minus-6 rating through 30 outings this season.
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