Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: Practices to begin camp
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Luostarinen was in Group A for Thursday's first practice of training camp, Colby Guy of Florida Hockey Now reports.
Luostarinen missed five games with a broken tibia at the end of the playoffs, but the 25-year-old appears fine now. The Finnish forward figures to be a middle-six player for much of 2023-24, though he could easily move around the lineup as a versatile forward. He had 43 points, 132 shots on goal and a plus-19 rating in 82 regular-season games last season.
Luostarinen (leg) signed a three-year, $9 million contract with Florida on Tuesday.
Luostarinen sat out the final five games of Florida's playoff run because of a broken tibia. During the regular season, he set career highs in goals (17), assists (26), points (43) and shots on net (132) over 82 contests. Luostarinen has developed nicely as a versatile two-way threat for the Panthers. He will probably line up as a middle-six forward during the 2023-24 campaign.
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Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: Suffered broken tibia
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Luostarinen suffered a broken tibia in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, which is why he missed all five contests of the Stanley Cup Finals, Colby Guy of Florida Hockey Now reports.
Luostarinen had two goals and five points in 16 playoff outings this year. He also recorded 17 goals and 43 points in 82 regular-season games. It's not clear if Luostarinen will be ready for training camp, but he won't require surgery.
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Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: Remains out for Game 5
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Luostarinen (lower body) won't play in Tuesday's Game 5 versus the Golden Knights, Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site reports.
Luostarinen will miss his fifth straight game. With the Panthers facing elimination Tuesday, there's no guarantee the winger will be healthy enough to return before the end of the series.
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Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: Won't play Saturday
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Luostarinen (lower body) will miss Game 4 versus Vegas on Saturday, Mike Stephens of SI Now reports.
Luostarinen has yet to play in the Stanley Cup Finals after suffering the injury in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals versus Carolina. The 24-year-old has two goals and five points in the postseason, all versus Boston in the opening round. Since then, he's gone nine straight games without a point. Luostarinen had 17 goals and 26 assists in 82 regular-season games this year.
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Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: Unavailable Thursday
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Luostarinen (lower body) will miss Game 3 on Thursday, Mike Stephens of SI.com reports.
Florida will be without Luostarinen for a third straight contest. He has two goals and five points in 16 playoff contests this year. If Luostarinen is able to return before the end of the Stanley Cup Finals, he will likely play on Florida's second or third line.
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Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: Won't play Monday
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Luostarinen (lower body) won't play Monday in Game 2 against Vegas, Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site reports.
Luostarinen will miss his second straight contest. He has supplied five points, 14 shots on goal and 37 hits in 16 games this postseason. Zac Dalpe, who got into the lineup in Luostarinen's place, logged just 5:40 of ice time in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Golden Knights.
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Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: Missing Game 1
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Luostarinen (lower body) is not on the ice for warmups ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals versus the Golden Knights, Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site reports.
Luostarinen was initially expected to be fine for the series opener after suffering an injury in Game 4 versus the Hurricanes and apparently aggravating it at practice Friday. That won't be the case, with Zac Dalpe instead projected to join the lineup in a bottom-six role. Luostarinen can be considered day-to-day ahead of Monday's Game 2.
Luostarinen (lower body) will be a game-time decision Saturday versus Vegas, Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports.
Luostarinen left practice early Friday after he was injured in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 24. Coach Paul Maurice is optimistic that Luostarinen will be in the lineup for Game 1. Luostarinen had two goals and five points in the opening round versus Boston, but he has not picked up a point in nine games over the last two rounds.
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Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: Expected to play Saturday
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Luostarinen left Friday's practice early but is expected to suit up for Game 1 against Vegas on Saturday, Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports.
Luostarinen was injured in Game 4 last round against the Hurricanes but likely won't miss any time. He's dressed in all 16 postseason games to date, tallying five points and 14 shots in the process.
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Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: Good to go
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Luostarinen (undisclosed) will be available for the next round of the playoffs, Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site reports.
Luostarinen didn't play in the third period of Wednesday's series-clinching win against Carolina in Game 4 following a shot block. He has accounted for five points, 14 shots on goal and 37 hits over 16 contests this postseason.
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Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: Sustains injury in Game 4
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Luostarinen (undisclosed) did not finish Wednesday's Game 4 versus the Hurricanes, David Dwork of Local 10 Miami reports.
Luostarinen logged 7:32 of ice time before departing the contest in the second period. The nature of his injury is unknown at this time, and it's unclear if it will affect his availability for the Stanley Cup Finals.
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Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: Pots game-winner in Game 6
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Luostarinen scored the game-winning goal and added an assist in Friday's 7-5 win over the Bruins during Game 6 of the Panthers' first-round series.
Both points came in a wild third period that featured seven of the game's 12 total goals, but Luostarinen's tally was far from a fluke. After Brandon Montour intercepted a Boston clearing attempt, the 24-year-old winger collected the puck at the blue line, skated to the far faceoff circle and went top shelf with a snapshot over Linus Ullmark. Luostarinen has two goals and four points in the last five games to help Florida force an improbable Game 7 against the NHL's best team during the regular season, a showdown which will come Sunday in Boston.
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Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: Scores empty-net goal
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Luostarinen tallied a goal in a 6-3 win over Boston in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Luostarinen was held off the scoresheet over his previous four games. He had 17 goals and 43 points in 82 outings during the regular season. Luostarinen's marker came on an empty net late in the third period and pushed Florida's lead up to 6-2.
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Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: One of each Friday
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Luostarinen scored a goal on four shots, added an assist and went plus-2 in Friday's 4-3 overtime win over the Blackhawks.
Luostarinen reached the 20-assist mark on Sam Bennett's tally to get the Panthers on the board in the third period. Just over four minutes later, it was Luostarinen who put them ahead 3-2. Since the All-Star break, the 24-year-old has leveled up his offense with six goals and eight helpers over 14 contests. He's at 16 tallies, 36 points, 109 shots on net, a plus-21 rating, 52 hits and 44 blocked shots through 66 outings overall. His spot on the top line should help him continue to play well, though he's been in and out of the power-play mix this season.
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Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: Two points against Tampa
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Luostarinen scored a goal and an assist in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Lightning.
The 24-year-old moved into a top-six role in February and never looked back, racking up four goals and 11 points over 10 games on the month. It's not clear how long Luostarinen might keep that assignment, as it came with both Aleksander Barkov (hand) and Sam Bennett (lower body) missing some time this month, but the younger forward has already put together a career-best season with 14 goals and 33 points through 62 games.
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Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: Logs two helpers in OT win
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Luostarinen provided a pair of assists in Monday's 4-3 overtime win over the Ducks.
Luostarinen assisted on Marc Staal's goal in the second period before setting up Carter Verhaeghe for the overtime winner. The 24-year-old Luostarinen has played well of late, posting eight points (three goals, five assists) in his last eight contests. He's been centering Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk on Florida's second line, though he could see his role reduced soon with Sam Bennett expected to return to the lineup Friday. Luostarinen has a career-high 30 points through 60 games this season, tallying 13 goals and 17 assists.
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Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: Nets goal vs. Blues
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Luostarinen found the back of the net in Florida's 6-2 loss to St. Louis on Tuesday.
Luostarinen scored at 18:44 of the second period to reduce the Blues' lead to 3-1. It was his 13th goal and 27th point in 57 contests in 2022-23. Luostarinen's recorded at least a point in four of his last five outings.
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Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: Tallies in shootout win
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Luostarinen scored a goal on two shots in Monday's 2-1 shootout win over the Wild.
With the goal, Luostarinen matched his career high in points -- he has 26 through 56 contests this season, the same amount he posted in 78 outings last year. The 24-year-old has been steady since the All-Star break, recording two goals, two assists and a plus-2 rating over his last four games. He's added 86 shots on net, a plus-12 rating, 42 hits and 37 blocked shots this season while mainly playing in a middle-six role.
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Panthers' Eetu Luostarinen: Chips in with assist
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Luostarinen logged an assist and three hits in Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Golden Knights.
The helper was Luostarinen's first point in seven games. The 24-year-old has reverted to a bottom-six role after picking up extra minutes when the Panthers had more injuries up front. He reached the 20-point mark in his 43rd game of the campaign, and he's added 72 shots on net, a plus-12 rating, 34 hits and 25 blocked shots as a defensively-responsible player.
