Panthers still waiting to find out who they'll face in round two

The Florida Panthers held a high-spirited practice in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday.

It was the first time Florida took the ice for a formal practice since eliminating the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 on Monday night.

While Florida enjoyed nearly full attendance, there were a few students who were not present for class.

A pair of Panthers defenseman – Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour – were not on the ice for practice.

After practice, Florida Head Coach Paul Maurice said there is nothing wrong with either player, it’s just part of the whole rest and recuperate process ahead of round two.

“It’s not even maintenance,” Maurice said. “It’s just, one more day is gonna make them right on.”

Sam Bennett was not expected to practice, but Maurice had said the plan was for Bennett to skate on his own on Thursday, but that was delayed due to Bennett being under the weather.

“That was the plan, but he was a little under the weather,” Maurice said. “If you get the sniffles, you’re not allowed to come to the rink right now.”

Bennett has not played since suffering an upper-body injury during Game 2 against Tampa Bay.

Maurice said on Wednesday that he believed there was a “very real possibility” that Bennett returns at some point during round two.

In the meantime, here are the way the lines and pairings looked during Thursday’s practice:

Carter Verhaeghe – Sasha Barkov – Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart

Vladimir Tarasenko – Kevin Stenlund – Evan Rodrigues

Jonah Gadjovich/ Ryan Lomberg / Kyle Okposo – Steven Lorentz – Nick Cousins

Gus Forsling – Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov

Josh Mahura – Toby Bjornfot – Uvis Balinskis 

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