Panthers’ Eetu Luostarinen to miss Tuesday’s game against Predators
Florida Panthers center Eetu Luostarinen will not be travelling with the team for Tuesday’s game against the Nashville Predators, according to Palm Beach Post and Pucks & Palms writer Colby Guy.
Eetu Luostarinen will not make the trip to Nashville with the Florida Panthers for Tuesday’s game.
He and his wife are expecting a child.
The Panthers will call up a forward to slide into the lineup for him.
Luostarinen will not be making the trip as he and his wife are expecting a child within the next few days. The Panthers’ next game after Tuesday is at home on Thursday against the Edmonton Oilers, so Luostarinen is likely to return by then, but that will all depend on how soon his child is born.
Luostarinen has been having a great season with the Panthers, with 8 goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 58 games. That puts him on pace to finish the season with 42 points, which would be just one point shy of his previous career high that he achieved in 2022-23.
Luostarinen also had one assist in three games with Finland in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.
Luostarinen has also been one of the Panthers’ best defensive forwards this season, as he’s fourth on the team in 5v5 expected goals against per 60 minutes with 2.09.
Luostarinen is in the first year of a three-year contract with a $3 million cap hit.
The Panthers are expected to call up a forward to slide into the lineup for Luostarinen, as the only other forward on their roster right now is the injured Matthew Tkachuk. At this time, that forward has not been recalled, nor do we know who the forward will be.
The Panthers currently sit in second in the Atlantic Division with a 34-21-3 record, one point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for the division lead. Florida will look to bounce back from a 2-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken when they visit the Predators in Nashville on Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST.