"Every team in the league has kind of had to go through this at some point," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said. "I think if you asked us at the start of the year, we knew we'd be one of them at some point. We just have to patch it together the best we can tonight."
As it stands now, Sam Bennett, Radko Gudas, Ryan Lomberg, Brandon Montour and Carter Verhaeghe are out for the Panthers after entering into COVID-19 protocols on Wednesday.
"It's about everybody staying safe and being healthy," Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau said. "It's not easy seeing some guys go into protocol, but we have to be ready to play tonight."
With plenty of holes to fill up and down the lineup, the Panthers are expected to recall several players from their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, who just swept a two-game series with the Rochester Americans, including filling up the scoresheet in a 11-1 blowout win on Tuesday.
Brunette said he's looking forward to seeing those call-ups make an immediate impact.
"For those kids coming up, this is a great opportunity to play in the NHL," he said. "We're going to need them and we're going to rely on them. They're probably going to play a little more than they're used to because we're going to need bodies here. If I'm one of those guys, I'm excited because I'm going to get an opportunity. They worked so hard down there to get this chance."
Sitting at 18-6-4, the Panthers opened their homestand with an 8-2 loss to the Senators on Tuesday. After Sam Reinhart lit the lamp to make it a 2-2 game in the second period, Ottawa scored six straight goals -- including a pair of tallies from Josh Norris -- to lock down the win.
Catching fire, Reinhart has posted 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his last seven games.
"It's not an easy thing to go through when the health is in question of so many guys in our locker room," Reinhart said of the team's latest adversity. "It's not something we want to go through, but we're managing OK. We're trying to follow all the protocols and get through this healthy."
Winning two of their last three games to improve to 12-10-5, the Kings extended their point streak to three games with a 3-2 overtime loss at Tampa Bay on Tuesday. Facing down the Lightning, Drew Doughty and Viktor Arvidsson scored, while Jonathan Quick made 27 saves.
Anze Kopitar leads Los Angeles in scoring with 25 points (eight goals, 17 assists), while Alex Iafallo sits in second with 17 points (nine goals, eight assists). Finding the back of the net three times over the last five games, Adrian Kempe paces the team in goals with 11.
Owning a 7-5-4 record on the season, Quick has strung together several vintage performances lately, going 3-0-1 with a .955 save percentage and one shutout over his last four appearances.
"We're ready to go," Reinhart said. "We've got to a job to do tonight."
Nearly unbeatable in Sunrise, Florida leads the NHL in wins (14) and goals (68) at home.
