FORT LAUDERDALE – Eetu Luostarinen still remembers the pain – both literal and figurative – of not being able to take the ice during last year’s Stanley Cup Final.
“We actually thought I could get back at some point in the series, but it just ended up being so much more painful that I couldn’t play through it,” said Luostarinen, who suffered a broken tibia in Game 4 of last year’s Eastern Conference Final. “Even if I would’ve got on the ice, it wouldn’t have been good for the team to be at less than 50%. It wasn’t fun to watch.”
Fast forward a year later and both Luostarinen and the Florida Panthers are back.
After losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in last year’s Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers are confident the second time will be the charm when they begin their follow-up quest for the Cup against the Edmonton Oilers with Game 1 at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.
Unlike last year’s Final, Luostarinen is feeling 100% heading into the series.
“Pretty fortunate to get to this position in back-to-back years,” the 25-year-old forward said. “Last year I wasn’t able to play, so I’m really excited for the challenge and I’m ready to go.”
Looking back at last year’s Final, Paul Maurice said No. 27’s absence was noticeable.
Throughout that incredible run, the third line of Luostarinen, Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart was key for the Panthers as opposing teams – much to their own detriment – would often try and match-up their best players against that trio after falling behind.
The result?
A 4-2 edge in goals at 5-on-5 when Luostarinen’s line was deployed.
“It was the big question mark going into the Final because we had lost him in the last game [against Carolina],” the Panthers veteran head coach said. “We didn’t know what we’d look like. What’s the impact of that guy coming out? It was huge. It changed the way that lined looked.”
A unique player for the Panthers, Luostarinen excels at doing a little bit of everything.
By the time Maurice arrived in South Florida, Luostarinen had already been with the Panthers for two seasons – primarily serving as a fourth-line center – after he’d been acquired from the Hurricanes in a multi-player deal in February of 2020.
Right away, he knew that the young Finn deserved to move up.
“He clearly had to be in our top nine,” Maurice recalls thinking.
Ever since then, Luostarinen, despite moving up and down the lineup to fill holes from time to time, has been a staple on the left side of the team’s third line. In his two seasons under Maurice, he’s registered 70 points (29 goals, 41 assists) over 164 regular-season contests.
In that same time, he’s also notched 193 hits, 107 blocks and won 271 faceoffs.
“He can take draws, he can play the wing, he can play center, he can kill penalties extremely well and he’s willing to block shots,” defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “He can play heavy actually. You can see how he drives his shoulder through guys. He’s got great body awareness and control for a tall, lanky guy. Nothing but good things to say about him.”
During this year’s playoffs, Luostarinen’s impact has also been noticeable.
In the 17 games leading up to the Final, he tallied six points (one goal, five assists) and won 52.9% of his faceoffs. Over the 207:33 of time he spent on the ice at 5-on-5, the Panthers also scored six goals while surrendering just four goals to the opposition.
Among Panthers forwards with at least 100 minutes of ice time, his 60 GF% ranks fourth.
Additionally, Luostarinen’s 51 hits are the third-most on the Panthers and second to only Sam Bennett’s 53 among the team’s forwards. He’s also blocked 12 shots and racked up 10 takeaways. A key piece of the penalty kill, his 35:38 of shorthanded ice time ranks fifth.
“Everybody’s feeling great and excited,” Luostarinen said. “Just waiting to get started.”
In the third period of the series-clinching win over the New York Rangers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final, it was an effort play from Luostarinen that set up the winning goal.
Chasing down Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller, Luostarinen lifted his stick and swiped the puck away before dropping it back to Lundell, who then set up Vladimir Tarasenko for a backdoor goal that extended Florida’s lead to 2-0 in what ended up as an eventual 2-1 win.
“I was just trying to get to the puck first,” Luostarinen said of the sequence. “I wasn’t able to, but then I just lifted his stick. That’s what we’re built to do every shift, just strip pucks and make it harder on their defense to move the puck around. That time we executed well and got the goal.”
With a second chance to make his mark on the biggest stage in hockey, Luostarinen will continue to be a very important player for the Panthers as they try to overcome the Oilers.
Puck drop for Game 1 is set for 8 p.m. ET in Sunrise.
“It’s always nice to play a lot of hockey,” Luostarinen said. “That’s what we love to do.”
