Anton Lundell hurt in first period, will not return for Florida Panthers

Florida Panthers rookie center Anton Lundell was injured in the first period of their game against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night and did not return to Florida’s eventual 6-1 win.

After the game, coach Andrew Brunette described Lundell as day-to-day and said he did not think it was too serious.

“He’s kind of day-to-day with a lower body. We’ll reevaluate tomorrow morning,” Brunette said. “I have no idea, I’m not a doctor so it’s tough for me to evaluate. I think it’s not serious, but we’ll see.”

Lundell, 20, is one of the top rookies in the league and a candidate for the Calder Trophy with 14 goals and 38 points in 52 games.

On Monday, Lundell was called for hooking at 10:31 of the period.

When he came out of the box, he was on the rush when he was pushed down to the ice by Buffalo’s  Mattias Samuelsson.

Lundell landed on his left leg and then went awkwardly into the boards.

He was slow to get to the bench. After taking a quick spin on the ice to test the leg, Lundell headed down the tunnel to the Florida dressing room.

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Florida replaced Lundell with former Sabres center Sam Reinhart on the third line.

The Panthers led 1-0 after the first despite being outshot 11-3 but broke things open in the second.

FLORIDA PANTHERS ON DECK

FLORIDA PANTHERS AT PITTSBURGH PENGUINS  

• When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
• Where: PPG Arena, Pittsburgh
• Tickets: CLICK HERE
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM, SiriusXM
• 2021 regular season series: Did not play
• Season Series — Tied 1-0-1: @Florida 5, Pittsburgh 4 (OT), Oct. 14; @Pittsburgh 3, Florida 2 (SO), Nov. 11
• All-time regular season series: Penguins lead 54-34-7, 4 ties