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The unusual case of Jakub Kindl

Tyler Kennedy,  Jakub Kindl

New Jersey Devils’ Tyler Kennedy (48) moves the puck as Florida Panthers’ Jakub Kindl (46), of the Czech Republic, defends during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, March 31, 2016, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

AP

For the first half of Wednesday’s game, the Florida Panthers essentially played with 17 skaters to the Islanders’ 18.

Defenseman Jakub Kindl was supposed to be a healthy scratch today. He was listed as such on the Florida Panthers’ official lineups, per the Miami Herald’s George Richards, but at the last minute Kindl was put onto the roster in place of forward Greg McKegg, giving the team seven blueliners.

After a less than stellar showing in Game 1 though and being scratched for the two contests that followed, Kindl didn’t log a single second of ice time in the first 30 minutes of Wednesday’s contest.

Which begs the question why is he on the roster at all, and the answer reportedly is that one of the team’s defenseman was struck by the puck during the warmups, according to Richards. Kindl was put into the lineup as a precaution in case the unnamed defenseman couldn’t play, but thus far the Panthers’ other blueliners have been logging regular minutes.

As a result Kindl might end up getting the unusual distinction of being inserted into a playoff game, but not being used at all.