RALEIGH -- The Florida Panthers are getting some key reinforcements back for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday night.
Top-line winger Sam Reinhart, defenseman Niko Mikkola and energy forward A.J. Greer will all return to the Panthers' lineup after missing their Game 4 loss to the Carolina, in which the Hurricanes avoided a sweep and sent the series back to Raleigh. Coach Paul Maurice said all three are healthy enough to play and none will have their minutes limited in Game 5.
Reinhart missed both games in Florida with a lower-body injury suffered on a hit from Carolina center Sebastian Aho in Game 2. His absence was felt the most on the Panthers' power play, which went 0-for-4 in both their Game 3 win and Game 4 loss.
Reinhart led the Panthers in power-play points (30) during the regular season, also leading them in overall points (81). He has two power-play points in 14 playoff games.
Maurice said Reinhart's "elite level of skill" changes things for the Florida power play.
"It's just the finishing ability. It changes the way you view our power play when he's not there, in terms of who you've got to cover," he said, saying that there's nothing the Carolina penalty kill is doing all that differently in the past two games. "I don't feel that there's been a structural change that caused us a problem, either in what we were doing or if there was something that they had significantly keyed in on."
Reinhart is expected to return to the top line with Aleksander Barkov and Evan Rodrigues.
Mikkola missed Game 4 after slamming his shoulder hard into the end boards midway through the third period of Florida's Game 3 win. He's been one of the best defensemen for the Panthers in the postseason while partnered with Seth Jones. Nicknamed "The Condor" for his 6-foot-6 frame, Mikkola has played well in his own end while contributing three goals and two assists in 15 games.
Greer, meanwhile, brings a physical element to the Panthers' fourth line. During an optional skate on Wednesday morning, he was slamming himself against the glass to test his body for Game 5.
Without these injured players, the Panthers lost Game 4 3-0, squandering a chance to advance to their third straight Stanley Cup Final, having won the championship last season. Forward Matthew Tkachuk said if the Panthers are going to close out their series against Carolina, they have to correct the mistakes they made in that loss -- and get back to playing a simpler brand of offense.
Tkachuk admitted that the Panthers having outscored Carolina 16-4 in the first three games of the series might have impacted how they mentally approached Game 4.
"When you score a lot of goals in the first three, naturally you might just be like, 'Alright, you just do some of the right things and you're going to score five goals.' That's just not how it works. Not in this series," he said. "We don't need to break it open. I think we just got away from it a little bit. Whereas if we just got back to oversimplifying it, I think that works to our advantage. That's just been our recipe for years."
For the Hurricanes, defensemen Sean Walker and Jalen Chatfield remain out of the lineup. Coach Rod Brind'Amour was uncertain if either could return if Carolina extends the series beyond Game 5.