Injuries sideline key defensemen as the Panthers bring up fresh talent to face Ottawa and their playoff hopes.
The end of the road is nearing for the Florida Panthers, both literally and figuratively.
Florida will play their final two road games of the season this week, starting on Thursday night when they face the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Center.
It’s been a challenging season for the Panthers, who have been dealing with major injuries to key players since the start.
The injured list has only grown in recent weeks, with defenseman Dmitry Kulikov becoming the third player over the past two weeks to suffer a season-ending broken finger, joining Evan Rodrigues and Aaron Ekblad after the latest fracture occurred during Tuesday’s shootout loss in Montreal.
As a result, Florida brought up young defensemen Ludvig Jansson and Marek Alscher from AHL Charlotte on Wednesday.
Jansson is playing in his first pro season in North America after signing his three-year entry-level contract with Florida back in May.
The 22-year-old Swede has played 29 games with the Checkers, accumulating three goals and 10 points while racking up 12 penalty minutes and skating to a plus-1 on-ice rating.
As for Alscher, he's played 104 AHL games over the past two seasons, accumulating five goals and 21 points while earning the trust of the Checkers coaching staff with solid defensive play, but both he and Jansson have yet to make their respective NHL debuts.
Looking at the standings, Florida and Ottawa are in very different situations as they near the finish line of the regular season.
The Senators currently hold the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, two points head of the Columbus Blue Jackets, the first team out of the playoffs looking in. Both teams have four games remaining.
Florida, meanwhile, hold the seventh-worst record in the league, which is significant because if the Panthers finish in a position that gives them a top-10 selection in this summer’s NHL Draft, they get to retain the pick despite including it in last year’s Trade Deadline deal with Chicago that brought Seth Jones to Sunrise.
The team currently with the tenth-worst record, the San Jose Sharks, are three points ahead of Florida with one more game remaining (five) than the Cats (four).
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Thursday’s visit to Ottawa:
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Mackie Samoskevich
Jesper Boqvist – Eetu Luostarinen – A.J. Greer
Tomas Nosek – Cole Schwindt – Noah Gregor
Cole Reinhardt – Luke Kunin – Vinnie Hinostroza
Gus Forsling – Mike Benning
Tobias Bjornfot – Seth Jones
Donovan Sebrango – Mikulas Hovorka
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Photo caption: Jan 10, 2026; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot (72) clears the puck after a save by goalie Leevi Merilainen (1)) in the second period against the Florida Panthers at the Canadian Tire Centre. (Marc DesRosiers-IMAGN Images)