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    David Dwork
    David Dwork
    May 28, 2024, 16:15

    Florida will keep Carter Verhaeghe on the top line with Sasha Barkov and Sam Reinhart to start Game 4 of the conference finals

    Florida will keep Carter Verhaeghe on the top line with Sasha Barkov and Sam Reinhart to start Game 4 of the conference finals

    The Florida Panthers may have a bit of a different look when they take the ice for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

    Florida will be hosting the New York Rangers on Tuesday night following consecutive overtime losses in Game 2 and 3, with the Cats now finding themselves down 2-1 in the best-of-7 series.

    When the Panthers took the ice for their morning skate at the Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale, there were signs that the team could have a few changes for Game 4.

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    Both Kyle Okposo and Steven Lorentz may be moving back into the lineup and will flank Kevin Stenlund on Florida’s fourth line, replacing Ryan Lomberg and Nick Cousins.

    That's how things looked during line rushes, which generally indicates how the team will look that night. 

    After the skate, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice refused to tip his hand, leaving the door open for one or both players to suit up.

    "It's not as drastic of a change maybe as you think,” Maurice said. “When we make changes like that – it may be one, it may be both – some of its health, some of it is, they look different. There’s a different kind of offensive zone thing that both guys do.

    If that is the case, it'll be the first action for Okposo and Lorentz since Game 5 against the Boston Bruins, exactly two weeks ago.

    The Panthers personnel across the rest of the roster would seemingly remain intact, but the forward lines, at least at the start of Game 4, will look as they did at the end of Game 3, at least based off the line rushes.

    "It is not the tipping point and it’s not the thing to put your team over the edge," Maurice said of the potential changes. "It’s the energy, that excitement; sometimes you put new players in and they get pretty fired up and give you a good boost.”

    Carter Verhaeghe – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart

    Evan Rodrigues – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk

    Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Vladimir Tarasenko

    Steven Lorentz – Kevin Stenlund – Kyle Okposo

    Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad

    Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour

    Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov

    Game 4 between the Panthers and Rangers is set for Tuesday at 8 p.m.

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