So, the Florida Panthers are in a bit of a Schrödinger’s cat-type conundrum; things both are and aren’t looking good for them as they head into game 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals. How? Well, Florida has been doing amazingly this round 3 series, winning both home and on-the-road games against their 2024 competitors, the Carolina Hurricanes, and winning them by big margins too. They are currently predicted to be the consecutive winners of the Stanley Cup, but they’ll be missing three major players in game 4!

Yes, the news is in, and coach Paul Maurice has confirmed it: Sam Reinhart, A.J. Greer, and Niko Mikkola will all not be playing in game 4 in the Amerant Bank Arena against the Hurricanes. Sam Reinhart was expected as he went down in game 2 against the Canes after taking a hit from Sebastian Aho, and in game 3 the Florida Panthers managed alright without him.

Jesper Boqvist, who replaced Reinhart, opened Florida’s scoring in that game, so the pinch wasn’t really felt. But now with Greer and Mikkola also missing, how will the Panthers’ famous depth fare? It’s been announced that Nico Sturm and Uvis Balinskis will replace Greer and Mikkola, respectively, but will this affect the perfect balance the team has been working on this whole season? And just when they started cooking?

And based on what went down just last year, the Hurricanes are capable of turning things around in a second, so the Florida Panthers will have to tread this new balance very carefully, home turf or not.

Will the Florida Panthers’ depth be affected by the loss of these three key players in game 4? 

While the Florida Panthers managed to get the practice they needed without Reinhart in game 3, and Boqvist also proved himself to be more than up to the mark, questions arise about their famed depth being affected by the loss of Greer and Mikkola. Mikkola, for starters, scored 6 points in the 15 games he played and has been performing exceptionally on both ends of the ice.

Paul Maurice compared losing Mikkola to losing Aaron Ekblad in those four games the latter had to sit out on due to suspension earlier in the series. And Ekblad has been a force of nature for the Panthers, so that comparison is telling in terms of what Mikkola’s loss will mean. However, Maurice did also say regarding the swap that, “Uvis Balinskis has been a player that’s come in and played exceptionally well.”

Greer has had 3 points in the past 11 games he’s played for the Panthers and has also added to the team’s depth. While Sturm, who will be replacing him for game 4, has scored no points in his seven playoff appearances. However, the Florida Panthers can afford to spend some time figuring out their new balance at this point, and Amerant Bank Arena will surely give them the space to do just that!

Now all that’s left to see is if Florida’s famed locker room culture can help the team excel through this experience. What we know from multiple player accounts so far is that the locker room is extremely supportive and tightly knit, with Sam Reinhart, despite his injury, still adding his input to the locker room, as per Tkachuk’s account.

So, hopefully the three new additions to game 4 can fall back on the experience of the Florida Panthers locker room in this high-pressure situation, unless the Canes use this as an opportunity to turn the whole thing around!