Florida Panthers News
Asplund has been out for the last four games but will replace Curtis Lazar (lower-body) in the lineup on Thursday. Asplund has scored two goals with no assists in seven NHL games this season.
Barkov will miss his sixth straight game but he was on the ice for the morning skate and it looks likely that he'll play Saturday vs. the Blue Jackets. Noel Acciari will stick between Carter Verhaeghe and Mason Marchment while Barkov is out.
Knight, who was the No.13 overall pick in 2019, finished his sophomore season with Boston College going 16-4-1 with a 2.18 GAA and .932 SV% and three shutouts in 21 games. The 6-foot-3, 192 lbs. netminder ranked fifth in the nation in SV% and tied for fifth in wins, the most among sophomore goaltenders.
Barkov is expected to miss his fourth straight game on Tuesday but head coach Joel Quenneville expects him to play either Thursday, Saturday or Sunday. With Barkov out, Noel Acciari is expected to centre a line with Carter Verhaeghe and Anthony Duclair.
Ekblad went down awkwardly on Sunday and is expected to be out at least 12 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a fracture. This is obviously a huge blow for the Panthers but also an unfortunate injury for Ekblad, who was enjoying a career year.
Luostarinen was sent to the taxi squad prior to Tuesday's year in Chicago but has swapped spots with Brett Connolly and is expected to be back in the lineup on Thursday. Luostarinen has three goals and five assists (eight points) in 31 games this season.
Barkov was a late scratch from Tuesday's game after getting hurt in warmups and will miss Thursday's game as well. With Barkov out, Noel Acciari picked up two assists in 19:48 TOI in his spot, so he could make for an interesting DFS play tomorrow. Head coach Joel Quenneville said that Barkov is "doing better today" so don't expect him to be out long-term.
Entwistle Wass originally drafted by the Coyotes in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft but bounced around a bit before being traded to the Blackhawks in 2018. The 21-year-old winger has two goals and three assists (five points) in 12 AHL games before being promoted.