Erik Gudbranson is out 3-4 weeks after orbital bone surgery and Scottie Upshall is out for "extended time" with a body injury sustained during the embarrassing 6-1 loss to Tampa Bay Monday night.
Upshall is second on the team in scoring to this point in the season and has been on fire since head coach Peter Horachek's arrival in early November. Gudbranson has also been having a solid year and brings a no-nonsense, tough attitude to the blue line that is a bit undersized with Brian Campbell and Mike Weaver in the top 4.
Both are huge blows to a team that is on a bit of a roll. The Cats are one of the hottest teams in the NHL, going 7-3-0 in their last 10 games. To fill the voids, Drew Shore and Alex Petrovic have been called from San Antonio.
The good news is that in year's past this scenario would result in two career AHL players being thrown in as patches until the starters returned. In Shore and Petrovic the Panthers get two guys with NHL experience and are absolutely part of the core of this team for years to come.
With the wealth of young, talented centers GM Dale Tallon has acquired over the last few years, Shore has been moved to wing in San Antonio to give the talented youngster good playing time. His future looks even brighter if he can be moved around in the lineup and still be productive. He had no goals and 15 assists in 28 games in San Antonio while learning his new position.
Petrovic is nasty and has good offensive upside to his game. Probably better than Gudbranson in that respect. However, he is playing a difficult position in professional hockey and the consistent playing time in San Antonio has been serving him well. It would be hard to imagine him not being a starting defenseman for the Panthers next season and beyond. He has 2 goals, 9 assists, and is a +6 with the Rampage this season.
This will be coach Horachek's first real test in adversity regarding the health of his team, so it will be interesting to see how the squad responds with the Red Wings and Canadiens visiting on back to back days starting tonight. The Panthers next 4 games are at home.
Do you think Shore and Petrovic are good enough to keep the team rolling on its winning ways?
Dan Spiegel Florida Panthers Media Follow me on Twitter Join the Florida Panthers Insiders FB Page Connect with me on Google Plus