Florida Panthers hold morning skate on March 26 at the Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale. The Florida Panthers are getting closer to full strength. After using their challenging weekend road games against the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers to snap themselves out of a recent funk, the Panthers are starting to see some recently injured and ill players make their way back into the lineup. That’ll be key as the Cats are in the midst of a very tough stretch of schedule that continues Tuesday night when they face the Boston Bruins at Amerant Bank Arena. Joining their teammates on the ice for Tuesday’s morning skate at the Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale were Sasha Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, Gus Forsling and Jonah Gadjovich. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjE3OTM2NjIzMjQ4NDky/img_6014.jpg] Ekblad hasn’t played in over two weeks after suffering a lower-body injury in a collision with teammate Vladimir Tarasenko during Florida’s 5-1 win over Calgary on March 9. He won’t play Tuesday, but he’s getting close. Barkov has missed each of Florida’s past three games while trying to fully recover from a nagging injury ahead of the playoffs. Gadjovich previously dealt with an illness and has only played in two of the Panthers past eight games while Forsling missed the weekend back-to-back in New York and Philly due to being sick. After the skate, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice told the media that both Barkov and Forsling would be back in the lineup. During line rushes, Barkov was on the top line, centering Tarasenko on the right and Evan Rodrigues on the left. Barkov’s usual linemate, Sam Reinhart, was kept on the line that prospered during last season’s playoff run, with Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen. Forsling will slide back onto the top pairing with Oliver Ekman-Larsson while the third pairing will be comprised of Dmitry Kulikov and Uvis Balinskis, with Josh Mahura exiting the lineup. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Battle for first: Panthers, Bruins meet in Sunrise tied atop Atlantic Division [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/battle-for-first-panthers-bruins-meet-in-sunrise-tied-atop-atlantic-division] Panthers sign Minnesota-Duluth star Ben Steeves to two-year ELC [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-sign-minnesota-duluth-star-ben-steeves-to-two-year-elc] Ex-Panther Jagr’s missing bobblehead’s have been found! [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/ex-panther-jagrs-missing-bobbleheads-have-been-found] A look at the week ahead in the race for the number 1 seed in the Eastern Conference [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/a-look-at-the-week-ahead-in-the-race-for-the-number-1-seed-in-the-eastern-conference] Reinhart and Hyman both hit the 50 goal mark for the first time in their careers Sunday [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/reinhart-and-hyman-both-hit-the-50-goal-mark-for-the-first-time-in-their-careers-on-sunday-] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]
