Gudas expected to play for Panthers in Game 3 of Stanley Cup Final

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Radko Gudas is expected to play for the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights at FLA Live Arena on Thursday (8 p.m. ET: TNT, TBS, truTV, CBC, SN, TVAS), after the defenseman left Game 2 on Monday with an undisclosed injury.

"We expect the lineup to be the same options (as Game 2)," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Wednesday. "We expect Radko to play."

Gudas, who did not practice Wednesday, immediately went to the locker room and did not return after being knocked to the ice on a hit from Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev 6:38 into Florida's 7-2 loss in Game 2. The 33-year-old also missed the final 11:30 of the first period of Game 1 on Saturday after being wrestled to the ice by Golden Knights center Jack Eichel during a scrum, but he returned to finish the game.

Trailing 2-0 in the best-of-7 series, Florida needs to tighten up defensively after being outscored 12-4 in the first two games, so Gudas' presence will be welcomed. The 33-year-old leads the League with 81 hits and has three assists in 18 games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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"He's a huge part of our team, so we really hope he's going to play," Panthers center Aleksander Barkov said.

Defenseman Aaron Ekblad also is expected to play after sitting out practice Wednesday for maintenance. Maurice said forward Eetu Luostarinen, who also did not practice, will miss his third straight game with a lower-body injury.

Maurice also reiterated that Sergei Bobrovsky will start in net Thursday after saying Tuesday, "I've got complete faith in what he'll be able to do in Game 3."

Bobrovsky was pulled 7:10 into the second period of Game 2 after allowing four goals on 13 shots and gave up eight goals on 38 shots for a 5.52 goals-against average and .826 save percentage in the first two games against Vegas after going 8-1 with a 1.50 GAA, .954 save percentage and one shutout in the second and third rounds against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes.