Florida has lost two straight games after winning its previous nine

A tough challenge will be awaiting the Florida Panthers when they take the ice at Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday.

Florida will be looking to avoid a third consecutive loss but will be facing a Detroit Red Wings squad that is hungry and desperate for wins.

Entering play Wednesday, Detroit is among a logjam of teams fighting for a precious few playoff spots.

The Red Wings currently sit in a tie with Tampa Bay, both holding 49 points and both in possession of the two Wild Card spots in the Eastern Conference.

There are seven teams who currently have between 47 and 50 points: Toronto, Detroit, Tampa, Pittsburgh, Washington, the New York Islanders and New Jersey.

The big news out of Detroit is that star forward Patrick Kane will not play Wednesday in Florida or Friday when the Red Wings wrap up their road trip in Carolina.

Kane’s lower-body injury is not related to his surgically repaired hip, the team said.

The Panthers enter Wednesday’s game with several forwards enjoying high-end scoring runs.

Any conversation about Florida’s hot players must begin with Sam Reinhart, who has scored at least a goal in all seven games he’s played in 2024.

Reinhart has 9 goals and 11 points during the run, and going back a little farther, he’s got 15 goals and 18 points over his past 14 outings.

It’s pretty unbelievable stuff, really.

Matthew Tkachuk, meanwhile, entered play Tuesday tied for the NHL lead in points since Jan. 1, racking up 7 goals and 15 points this year.

Panthers captain Sasha Barkov has become an assist machine, dishing out 16 helpers over his past 11 games, while Carter Verhaeghe has logged at least a goal and an assist in eight of his past 14 outings. The man they call Swaggy has accumulated 10 goals and 20 points during that span.

Florida is expected to start Sergei Bobrovsky in goal.

Recently voted into the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, Bobrovsky has been among the league leaders in wins, goals against average and save percentage for most of the season.

Currently, Bobrovsky holds a 21-10-1 record to go with a 2.45 GAA and .911 save percentage.

Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Wednesday’s matchup with the Wings:

Evan Rodrigues – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart

Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Ryan Lomberg

Jonah Gadjovich – Kevin Stenlund – Will Lockwood

Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour

Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Josh Mahura

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