Three surprising last-minute lineup changes for the Florida Panthers

With Florida sitting at 21-16-3, this feels like a coach trying to reset the vibe fast before the game gets away again. The opponent is Colorado, and that is a brutal test if your details are even a little loose.

The blue line tweak is just as loud as the goalie call, Donovan Sebrango draws in because Seth Jones is out with an upper-body injury. Uvis Balinskis bumps up to skate with Niko Mikkola, and Sebrango slots in next to Jeff Petry.

I can already hear the crowd groan if the first one is soft, but this is the kind of night where Paul Maurice has to push the right buttons. Jones leaving the Winter Classic early on Friday forced his hand, and the dominoes are obvious.

Tarasov has gone 4-6-2 with a 2.96 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage in 13 NHL games this season. The 26-year-old was a 2017 third-round pick, 86th overall, and he is playing on a one-year $1.05 million deal.

On the back end, Balinskis moving up matters because Colorado attacks off the rush and punishes slow gaps. Sebrango's job is simpler, move pucks early, keep the slot clean, and do not turn exits into long shifts.

Bobrovsky being the backup is still a headline because he's 37, carries a $10 million cap hit, and he's 17-10-1 with a 2.84 GAA and .885 save percentage. If the plan is a mental breather after Friday, I get it, but the margin is thin right now.

This is a lineup that has to win with structure, not star power, because Jones, Aleksander Barkov, and Matthew Tkachuk are still out. If Tarasov gives them steadiness early, the next milestone is simple, turn Sunday into the start of a clean week.

Your thoughts on Tarasov starting vs Colorado?