Panthers down a man for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The Florida Panthers will be down a man for arguably their biggest game of the season thus far.

Earlier in the day on Saturday, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice had indicated that Eetu Luostarinen would be a game time decision for the Panthers but things still sounded fairly positive. Maurice himself indicated that he was 'optimistic' regarding Kuostarinen's status for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, but it would seem that optimism may have been misplaced.

The Panthers have now hit the ice for warmups and Luostarinen is nowhere to be seen with the 24 year old forward presumably unable to participate in tonight's game. Taking his spot in warmups was forward Zac Dalpe, but it is currently unclear how this will impact Florida's line combinations coming into tonight's game.

Luostarinen has been an important part of the Panthers offense this season with 17 goals and 26 assists for a total of 43 points over 82 regular season games and he has also produced in the playoffs with 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points over 16 games for the Panthers on their way to the Cup Final.