Injury Updates Shake Up Florida Panthers’ Preseason Plans

**FORT LAUDERDALE** — The Florida Panthers have had a relatively injury-free start to training camp, but two players have either been sidelined or injured in the preseason’s opening round, leading to slight adjustments in the team’s plans.

Rookie Mackie Samoskevich has been dealing with an undisclosed upper-body injury that has kept him out of all but one practice session.

On Saturday, Samoskevich took to the ice for the first time during camp, but in a restricted capacity, sporting a yellow non-contact jersey.

As anticipated, Samoskevich did not play in Sunday’s preseason doubleheader and missed Tuesday’s practice as well.

Head coach Paul Maurice downplayed the severity of Samoskevich’s injury, noting that they want him at full strength before returning to action — which could be as soon as this weekend.

“I just want to get him back to 100 percent,” Maurice said.

The situation surrounding center Tomas Nosek, however, appears more concerning.

During Florida’s second game against Nashville on Sunday, Nosek went hard into the end boards after being tripped by Jeremy Lauzon.

Nosek was slow to get up and was carefully helped to the bench and eventually to the locker room.

Nosek clarified that the injury is upper-body and does not appear to involve a concussion. Still, Nosek could be sidelined into the start of the regular season.

“It’ll take a few days to assess the full extent of the injury,” Maurice said. “It depends on how quickly he heals, but we’re looking at weeks rather than days.”

With Samoskevich out, the Panthers have been rotating players on the right wing of the third line, centered by Anton Lundell with Eetu Luostarinen on the left. Samoskevich is expected to recover in time to compete for that spot before the season opener, but for now, Sandis Vilmanis has been filling in and performing well.

Maurice also mentioned that Justin Sourdif was set to get a look on that line, but he left Tuesday’s practice after a collision with the boards.

“There’s competition for that spot,” Maurice said, adding that Lundell and Luostarinen’s line would sit out the next two preseason games.

As for the fourth-line center role that Nosek was playing, the Panthers have several options. Jesper Boqvist could slide over to center, or the team could consider veteran Zac Dalpe as another possibility.

With Nosek’s status uncertain, Florida will need to temporarily fill his spot, and Maurice emphasized that this creates opportunities for other players.

“For those guys, this is a chance,” Maurice said. “Tomas may heal faster and be ready for the opener, but I’m hedging my bets because I don’t have a clear answer yet. All of the players will get some valuable experience in the next three games, especially.”

— A number of players trying to make the Panthers’ roster will be showcased in tonight’s preseason game in Orlando against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Maurice noted that most of tonight’s lineup would come from Tuesday’s second practice group, which did not include Florida’s top three forward lines, top defensemen, or goaltenders Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight.

Chris Driedger is expected to start in goal for the Panthers tonight, with Cooper Black or Ken Appleby serving as backup.