RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Florida forward Sam Reinhart left the Panthers’ Eastern Conference final game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night with a lower-body injury and won’t return.
Reinhart was shaken up late in the first period when he was hit by Carolina’s Sebastian Aho as Reinhart carried the puck into the offensive zone. Aho hit Reinhart near the left knee, with the leg bending awkwardly.
Reinhart made his way back to the bench and was grimacing in pain before heading to the locker room.
Reinhart’s injury came as the reigning Stanley Cup champion Panthers had raced to a 3-0 first-period lead in Game 2 after winning Tuesday’s 5-2 win in the series opener.
On the Carolina side, defenseman Jalen Chatfield sat out for the third straight missed game going back to the Game 5 finale in the second-round series against the Washington Capitals.
Coach Rod Brind’Amour had said Chatfield is considered day to day and wants to play. He has been skating with the team, including before Thursday night’s game but remained a scratch.
The Hurricanes tweaked the lineup in response to the Game 1 loss, moving forward Mark Jankowski into the lineup instead of Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
___
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
