Radko Gudas to play, Sergei Bobrovsky to start for Florida Panthers in Game 3

Good news for the Florida Panthers: Radko Gudas will back in the lineup for Game 3 when the series shifts to FLA Live Arena.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Gudas should be good to return after leaving Game 2 with a suspected injury. Gudas was banged up in the opening game and left warmups early on Monday. He played for two minutes before getting hit by Ivan Barbashev, a blow that knocked Gudas out for the rest of the game.

Gudas didn’t skate in the first practice back on Wednesday, but Maurice said he’ll be ready as the Panthers look to shake up the momentum.

Gudas has been a valuable physical force for the Panthers throughout the playoffs, registering three assists and 30 penalty minutes. He has averaged 17:02 in ice time, although the number is skewed due to the lack of ice time in Game 2. Gudas leads all players with 81 hits during the post-season, the only player to break past the 80-hit threshold.

The Panthers will also go back to goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky for Game 3 after getting pulled in the 7-2 loss. He allowed four goals on 13 shots over 27 minutes and was taken out in favor of Alex Lyon. Bobrovsky has allowed four goals in both games in this series after going nine games in a row of allowing two or fewer goals. Bobrovsky has been one of the best goaltenders in the entire playoffs, a huge reason why the team managed to beat Boston, Toronto and Carolina.

Florida will need to turn things around quickly, with the Golden Knights holding a 2-0 series lead. The last time a team started a series down 0-2 and managed to come back and win the Stanley Cup was when Boston beat Vancouver back in 2011. Pittsburgh was the only other team after the 1970s to pull that off, beating Detroit in seven games back in 2009 after a rough start.

Puck drop for Game 3 is set for just after 8:00 PM Et on Thursday. Game 4 will be at the same time on Saturday, with a potential Game 5 set for Tuesday, June 13.