The Florida Panthers will get their leading scorer back for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes. Sam Reinhart will return to the lineup after missing Games 3 and 4, coach Paul Maurice announced Wednesday.
Reinhart was injured in Game 2 when he took an awkward hip check in the leg from Hurricanes captain Sebastian Aho. That injury kept him out of the next two games, but Reinhart will be back as the Panthers try to close out the Hurricanes again.
The Panthers have gotten more than enough production from their depth forwards in these playoffs, and that was the case in their 6-2 rout of the Canes in Game 3. However, Reinhart’s absence was really felt in Game 4, a 3-0 loss for the Panthers. Florida generated just 20 shots on goal as it struggled to solve Jaccob Slavin and the Carolina defense.
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With Reinhart back, the Panthers should be much more threatening. Over the last two seasons, Reinhart has scored a combined 96 goals, which is second in the NHL over that span. He scored 10 goals during Florida’s Stanley Cup run last year, and he’s up to four goals and seven assists in this postseason.
In addition to Reinhart, defenseman Nikko Mikkola and bottom-six forward A.J. Greer will return for Game 5 after missing Game 4 with injuries.
The Panthers’ defense has been a major driver of offense, and Mikkola has been a prime example of that. In the first three games against the Canes, he recorded two goals and two assists.
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