Florida Panthers Could Get Key Piece Back Soon

FORT LAUDERDALE — The Florida Panthers had Sam Bennett back on the ice Tuesday afternoon with coach Paul Maurice saying the team’s second-line center could return to game action against the Boston Bruins.

Perhaps as early as Wednesday.

“He is closing in. He is close now,” Maurice said. “It is one of the next three games, for sure, I think.’’

Bennett was injured midway through the second period of Game 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning after taking a puck off his hand from a Brandon Montour slapshot.

He has not been seen in practices open to the media, but Maurice said Bennett has been skating the past few days.

Enemy Lines: Follow the Bruins at Boston Hockey Now

Florida did not hold a full practice following Monday’s 6-1 loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Instead, Bennett joined Florida’s scratched players and was among the final players off the ice. Uvis Balinskis did a lot of individual work after Bennett headed inside.

“There will be nothing changed from what happened on the ice unless he had a major setback,” Maurice said Tuesday.

When Bennett returns, he would likely slide back into his role centering the second line with Carter Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk on his wings.

Sasha Barkov would probably be reunited with Sam Reinhart and Vladimir Tarasenko on the top line; Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Evan Rodrigues could resume as the third line.

“That’s a big person, a big personality and a big presence in our lineup,” Reinhart said of Bennett on Tuesday. “Any chance you can get him back, hopefully sooner than later, that’s obviously a positive.’’

Maurice did say Tuesday that he did not expect any lineup changes for Game 2 — although that could certainly change.