The Florida Panthers lost starting goalie Roberto Luongo late in Wednesday’s game against the San Jose Sharks.
Luongo came out of the game after Sharks forward Joe Pavelski scored the game-tying goal with 38 seconds left in the third period.
Backup James Reimer entered the game in Luongo’s place and he stopped both shots he faced before the Panthers won the game in overtime. Reimer played just 2:16, but still ended up getting credit for the win.
After the game, head coach Tom Rowe said Luongo was dealing with some cramps and that he’d be “fine” going forward. So it sounds like the Panthers dodged a bullet there.
The news seems to be a little tougher for the Maple Leafs and rookie forward Mitch Marner, who exited last night’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
In the second period, Marner tried to separate Boone Jenner from the puck, but he lost an edge and crashed into the boards awkwardly (top). Marner got up right away and skated toward the Leafs bench before heading off to the locker room.
The Leafs ended up losing 5-2 and after the game, head coach Mike Babcock had no update on Marner’s upper-body injury.
Here’s the latest update from the Toronto Sun:
Marner is expected to be evaluated by team doctors on Thursday - an off-day for the team. His status for a pair of weekend games at home to the Senators on Saturday and on the road in Carolina on Sunday isn’t likely to be known until the team returns to practice on Friday.
Obviously the loss of Marner would be huge for the Leafs’ playoff aspirations. Playing most of the season on a line with veterans Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk, the 2015 first-round pick has had a sensational start to his NHL career.
His 48 points and 33 assists through 56 games leads the team and is tops among all NHL rookies. Marner leads Toronto and all NHL rookies in both points (48) and assists (33).
