Photo credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Eetu Luostarinen returned to the Florida Panthers practice ice Friday and it felt like the first good break this team has caught in weeks.
The 25 year old had been sidelined since Nov. 15 after suffering severe lower body burns when a propane grill malfunctioned at home. His recovery kept him away longer than any standard injury, and coach Paul Maurice stressed that doctors will decide whether he can play Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Maurice made it clear no risk will be taken. Florida needs bodies, yet they will not rush a player still being monitored for infection. If Luostarinen cannot go Saturday, a return Sunday against the New York Islanders or sometime next week remains possible.
Eetu Luostarinen lifts Florida Panthers energy
As a fan watching this stretch, seeing him back beside Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart immediately looked right, like a piece sliding back where it belongs. The top line moved with more purpose, helped by Lundell working through stitches under his left eye after Thursday's high stick.
Florida needs the lift. The club has lost four straight and five at home, its longest slide in Sunrise since 2020. Luostarinen brings reliability in all three zones, plus ten points in seventeen games this season, production they have struggled to replace during this slump.
The injury list explains plenty of the instability. Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Tomas Nosek, and Dmitry Kulikov remain out, with Jonah Gadjovich and Cole Schwindt recovering from long term surgeries. Tkachuk appears the closest to returning, perhaps soon after Christmas, but the lineup has stretched thin nightly.
Maurice acknowledged how starved the group is for reinforcements. He called Luostarinen's presence a major emotional boost because the room has barely seen anyone come back amid the stream of absences. Florida looked sharper in practice, the kind of energy bump that often shows up in a game.
The Panthers now try to snap their home skid Saturday against Columbus before hosting the Islanders on Sunday. At 0-4-1 in their past five at Amerant Bank Arena, they need someone to change the temperature. Luostarinen's return, whether Saturday or soon after, might be the spark that resets their rhythm.