Both Sasha Barkov and Evan Rodrigues left Florida's win in Vegas on Thursday with injuries and did not return
The Florida Panthers will face one of the top teams in the NHL on Saturday afternoon, but there is a bit of mystery as to how the Cats will look when they hit the ice.
Florida arrives in the Rocky Mountains playing some of its best hockey of the campaign and riding a season-high six-game winning streak.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, the most recent of their wins may have come at a cost.
Tuesday in Arizona, Florida forward Nick Cousins was lost to the concussion protocol after taking an illegal check from Coyotes forward Jason Zucker, who was given a three-game suspension for the hit.
Cousins has since been place on Injured Reserve.
Two days later when the Panthers visited Las Vegas, both Sasha Barkov and Evan Rodrigues left the game early and did not return after suffering separate injuries during the first period.
After the game Florida Head Coach Paul Maurice said that they would be reevaluated the following day, but the Panthers did not practice before heading to Colorado so there would be no update on either player’s status until prior to Saturday’s game.
Florida did call up rookie Mackie Samoskevich from AHL Charlotte on Friday, so he may be called into the lineup if either Barkov or Rodrigues can’t go.
Regardless of who suits up for Florida, the Panthers are going to have their hands full with a tough Colorado squad that is very good on home ice.
The Avalanche come into the matchup with Florida having won each of their past four games overall, but they also have won seven in a row at Ball Arena.
One of the favorites to come out of the Western Conference and compete for a Stanley Cup, Colorado currents sits atop the NHL standings with 53 points through 39 games.
A big part of the Avalanche’s success comes from the play of their superstar, Nathan MacKinnon.
He’s having a Hart Trophy-worthy season so far, racking up 22 goals and 64 points through 39 games, but the run he’s been on lately is downright scary.
MacKinnon has eight points in his past three games and 16 points over his past seven games.
He had 29 points in December. That’s nearly a point per day.
NOT per game. Per day.
Here are Florida’s projected lines and pairings for Saturday’s matchup with the Avalanche, though things could change if either or both of Barkov and Rodrigues have to miss any time.
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 – Dmitry Kulikov
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