Reinhart to miss Game 3 of Eastern Conference Final with lower-body injury

SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers will be without Sam Reinhart when they host the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.

Dealing with a lower-body injury, the star forward is considered day-to-day.

“He’s not in our lineup tonight," head coach Paul Maurice said.

The injury occurred with just over five minutes remaining in the first period of Game 2 when Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho caught Reinhart with a low hit as he entered the zone.

Reinhart went crashing to the ice, but was able to make it to the bench on his own.

There was no penalty assessed on the play.

After leading the Panthers in goals (39) and points (81) during the regular season, Reinhart has accumulated 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 14 games so far this postseason.

Even with Reinhart missing, Florida won Game 2 by a score of 5-0 to take a 2-0 series lead.

“We’ve had a lot of experience, not necessarily with losing Reino, but up and down the lineup losing guys,” defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “It’s never easy, but it’s a team effort. The next-man-up mentality has always been there for us.”

With Reinhart out, Jesper Boqvist will re-enter the lineup and take his spot on the top line.

In nine playoff games, the speedy Swede has recorded a goal, an assist and 30 hits.

A strong forechecker, Boqvist’s 22.52 hits per 60 minutes ranks third on the Panthers.

“He can jump in and there’s no lag in his game,” Maurice said of Boqvist, who scored a career-high 12 goals in the regular season. “He doesn’t have to get used to a series. There’s lots of maturity to what he does. He played with Barky (Aleksander Barkov) last time, and he’ll switch over and play the other side tonight.”

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