Panthers' Carter Verhaeghe: Targeting playoff return

Verhaeghe (upper body) is considered week-to-week and may not return until the postseason, Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site reports Tuesday.

Verhaege was on a roll prior to getting hurt with five points in his last six contests but now figures to miss the final seven games of the regular season. Both Evan Rodrigues and Vladimir Tarasenko could be candidates to step in Verheage's first-line role playing alongside Aleksander Barkov -- though the line combinations against Montreal on Tuesday will be further shuffled by the absence of Matthew Tkachuk (illness).