George Richards, FHN Publisher
With Aaron Ekblad out for the season after having surgery Monday, the Panthers need someone to fill his spot and, at least right now, Gus Forsling will get his shot.
Florida plays host to Detroit on Tuesday night and at morning skate, Forsling was with MacKenzie Weegar on the Panthers’ top pair.
This is a terrific opportunity for anyone, but especially for someone who was waived by Carolina during training camp.
And make no mistake, Forsling has earned his increased role and responsibility on the Panthers.
Weegar will slide over the right side and play in Ekblad’s spot.
“It’s a ton of responsibility and I think Forsling has played very well and Weegar has played very well,” Joel Quenneville said Tuesday morning.
“So, you put them together and they’re going to get important minutes. But I think all of our pairs are going to see top lines. … There will be a lot of different partners over the course of a game but at the same time, that pair will probably be together most of the night.”
On the day Florida claimed Forsling off waivers, he was so excited to join his new team that he packed up his car in Raleigh, N.C., and drove straight through to South Florida.
He arrived in town after midnight but reported to camp a few hours later and was on the ice for his first practice with the team.
“I was for sure hoping for a fresh start,” Forsling said Tuesday morning. “Get back to the NHL and, so far so good.”
Forsling has been a terrific addition to the Panthers ever since.
Florida has used him in a variety of situations and, over the course of the past few months, he has established himself as a top-four defenseman with the Panthers.
“I feel like I have been playing pretty good lately,” Forsling said. “I have to keep proving them right, keep playing my game.”
That is where he was projected in Carolina, too, but he got caught in a numbers crunch with the Hurricanes and spent most of last season in the minors.
It was with the AHL Charlotte Checkers where new Florida assistant GM Paul Krepelka — who ran the Checkers last season — got to know Forsling, got to watch his game develop.
When he came available, the Panthers were ready and snapped him up.
Good thing.
“We are fortunate,” Quenneville said. “We think he’s coming on as a defender who is quick, gets to people and closes space very fast and turns in transition from defense to offense. He has done a lot of good things for us; has a big shot for us. He has really helped our team.”
Although it looked like the Panthers were going a little crazy when it came to stockpiling defensemen — Florida brought in Kevin Connauton on a tryout, claimed Noah Juulsen as well — in a compact season, they figured it was better to be safe than sorry.
Ekblad being out leaves an obvious big hole to fill and it would not be fair to expect Forsling, or anyone else on the Panthers, to try and fill it.
But they have to adjust and try their best to do so.
Ekblad is an All-Star quality defenseman whose emergence this season had him in talks for Norris Trophy consideration.
That is a large hole to fill. But, the Panthers have to one-by-one try and do so.
“It’s going to be tough to replace a guy like that,” Forsling said. “But everyone has to step up now. We have good depth on the D and we have to all take another step.”
BARKOV STILL OUT
Sasha Barkov will miss his fifth consecutive game with the still-unknown lower body injury.
Barkov left warmups early before Florida’s first game in Chicago last Tuesday and has not returned since.
“Barky is getting close,” Quenneville said. “This homestand is a busy week and we expect him to play here at home.”
Detroit Red Wings at Florida Panthers
PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS LINES
FLORIDA FORWARDS
23 Carter Verhaeghe — 55 Noel Acciari — 91 Anthony Duclair
11 Jonathan Huberdeau — 21 Alex Wennberg — 10 Brett Connolly
77 Frank Vatrano — 83 Juho Lammikko — 74 Owen Tippett
19 Mason Marchment — 27 Eetu Luostarinen
FLORIDA DEFENSEMEN
42 Gus Forsling — 52 MacKenzie Weegar
61 Riley Stillman — 6 Anton Stralman
3 Keith Yandle — 7 Radko Gudas
65 Markus Nutivaara
FLORIDA GOALIES
72 Sergei Bobrovsky
60 Chris Driedger
Scratches: F Ryan Lomberg, F Vinnie Hinostroza
Taxi squad: D Kevin Connauton, F Aleksi Heponiemi, G Philippe Desrosiers
Injured: D Aaron Ekblad (leg, out for season); F Sasha Barkov (lower body); F Patric Hornqvist
Florida power play (28/113 24.8% — 7th in NHL)
Florida penalty kill (86/107 80.4% — 13th in NHL)
PP1: Keith Yandle, Jonathan Huberdeau, Alex Wennberg, Frank Vatrano, Carter Verhaeghe
PP2: Gus Forsling, Anthony Duclair, Owen Tippett, Noel Acciari, Mason Marchment
PROJECTED DETROIT RED WINGS LINES
DETROIT FORWARDS
14 Robby Fabbri — 71 Dylan Larkin — 11 Filip Zadina
54 Bobby Ryan — 92 Vladislav Namestinikov — 39 Anthony Mantha
89 Sam Gagner — 27 Michael Rasmussen — 37 Evgeny Svechnikov
73 Adam Erne — 41 Luke Glendening — 43 Darren Helm
DETROIT DEFENSEMEN
65 Dan DeKeyser — 17 Filip Hronek
18 Marc Staal — 24 Jon Merrill
44 Christian Djoos — 22 Patrik Nemeth
DETROIT GOALIES
45 Jonathan Bernier
29 Thomas Greiss
Detroit power play (12/104 11.5% — 29th in NHL)
Detroit penalty kill (73/101 72.3% — 31st in NHL)
PP1: Bobby Ryan, Dylan Larkin, Adam Erne, Filip Zadina, Filip Hronek
PP2: Robby Fabbri, Sam Gagner, Evgeny Svechnikov, Anthony Mantha, Jon Merrill