SUNRISE, FLORIDA – MARCH 10: Vinnie Hinostroza #24 of the Florida Panthers celebrates his first goal with the team against the Detroit Red Wings during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena on March 10, 2026 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Tomas Diniz Santos/Getty Images)
Tomas Diniz Santos
Getty Images
It had been nearly five years since Vinnie Hinostroza’s brief first stint with the Florida Panthers came to an end.
The veteran forward, re-acquired by the Panthers at the NHL trade deadline on Friday, made a quick impression in his first game back in South Florida with a goal and assist in Florida’s 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday at Amerant Bank Arena.
Hinostroza opened scoring 9:48 into regulation when he deflected a Jesper Boqvist shot from the left circle past Detroit goaltender John Gibson. He also had the primary assist on Niko Mikkola’s game-tying goal from the point 5:10 into the third period to make it 2-2.
“First game, I got the jitters out of the way,” Hinostroza said. “My linemates really helped me out there, playing a different system and stuff. There’s little stuff I have to still focus on. I could do better, but that was a fun first game, and that was a big one.”
But Marco Kasper gave Detroit the lead back 82 seconds after Mikkola’s goal on a partial breakaway. Patrick Kane and Justin Faulk scored goals in the second period for the Red Wings.
Carter Verhaeghe scored two goals in the final 90 seconds of regulation to first tie the game and then give the Panthers the final lead.
“Those are things that we’ve seen before with Carter,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “It’s an elite shot.”
For Hinostroza, it was his first points with the Panthers after being held without a point in his nine previous games with Florida in the 2020-21 season before being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks that year.
With Florida (32-29-3) all but eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention, Hinostroza will get his share of looks down the stretch of the season. The Panthers are managing a slew of injuries and are managing the workloads of several players down the stretch. Brad Marchand and Sam Reinhart did not play Tuesday, with Marchand out long-term and possibly for the rest of the season with the possibility of surgery for a lower-body injury being determined this week.
Enter the likes of Hinostroza, who Florida acquired from the Minnesota Wild for unspecified future considerations on Friday. He played as the right winger on the Panthers’ fourth line on Tuesday with Boqvist at left wing and Luke Kunin at center.
“He’s got a lot of speed, he’s got some skill and plays hard,” Panthers president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito said Friday following the trade. “He’s a kind of a jack-of-all-trades, not dissimilar from Roddy [Evan Rodrigues]. I think Vinnie can play center. He can play wing. He could jump around the lineup, and he’s fast.”
He showed those skills on Tuesday. Hinostroza was on the ice for 9:41 against the Red Wings and his line outscored Detroit 2-0.
“Good for him,” Maurice said. “Drove the net, made a nice play around the back of the net on the second one, on Niko’s goal. … Those three guys have never played together before, but they were good. They worked hard, they respected the game. They didn’t try to overdo things.
He will get the chance to do so plenty more over the final month of the season.
The Panthers cap their short two-game homestand on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m., Scripps Sports).
This story was originally published March 10, 2026 at 9:38 PM.
.JPG)
Miami Herald
Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.