Reinhart, Verhaeghe and the kid carry Florida into December

The Panthers won't get Aleksander Barkov or Brad Marchand back this month, and I can live with that, because the line holding the fort is the best thing on this team right now.

It's Sam Reinhart in the middle, Carter Verhaeghe on the left and Sandis Vilmanis on the right. Paul Maurice called them "our first line" after Wednesday's 5-3 win over Chicago, and he wasn't being polite.

Here's the number. Reinhart and Verhaeghe are both on five-game point streaks, per NHL data, and both have nine goals through 16 games. By our count, they've landed on the scoresheet in the same game six times in the last eight.

The timeline

Marchand talked Thursday at the unveiling of the team's new JetBlue plane in Fort Lauderdale. "I can't say it's this month, but probably within five weeks, six weeks," he said. He also admitted the knee scared him at first. "I've never been so happy to be out for this amount of time."

Barkov didn't put a date on his. "Hopefully, soon, both of us will be back," he said. Both are skating again, and Maurice had Barkov at about three more weeks. Call it December for both, and plan for the back end of December.

That's a long stretch without your captain and your agitator. Florida has handled it fine so far: 20 points through 16 games, and 4-1 in the last five, per NHL data.

Why this line works

Reinhart hasn't played center every night since his last season in Buffalo. You'd never know it, because he's not the guy winning the footrace, he's the guy already standing where the puck is going, and a center who reads the ice like that makes his wingers look faster than they are.

Verhaeghe doesn't need the help, since nine goals in 16 games is his best start since 2023. Maurice called it "incredible consistency," and that's the right word. Verhaeghe has always had a playoff gear he saves for April. This year he found it in October.

Then the kid. Vilmanis went for two goals and two assists against Chicago, the first multi-goal night of his career, and he has six points in his last five games. He doesn't have to drive this line; he has to get to the wall first, win it and shoot. He's doing all three.

Lineup watch

The minutes say Maurice still has the kid on a short leash. Vilmanis played 13.5 minutes Wednesday, per NHL data, about four and a half fewer than Reinhart. That's the next step. If he keeps this up in Washington and against Boston this weekend, he's earned 15 a night.

When Barkov comes back, somebody slides down. My call: Barkov takes the Tkachuks, and this line stays exactly as it is. You don't break up the one thing that's working in a month where everything else has been held together with tape. I've watched this team get through worse Novembers with a lot less.

Pabs' read: Florida doesn't have to tread water until December. With this line, it can bank points. It's Saturday at 12:30 in Washington and Sunday at 1 against the Bruins at home. Four points is the ask, and I think they get three.