Florida Panthers Captain Aleksander Barkov is returning to the ice after sustaining a lower-body injury against the Ottawa Senators. Barkov has missed five games since crashing into the end boards with 1:1o remaining in the game. Coach Paul Maurice said, “I think it will be sometime on this trip and I think he plays before we go to Finland.”
The Florida Panthers have been without two of their star forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Alexsander Barkov. The Panthers are 4-2-1 on the season. They defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in overtime 4-3 and now will play the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.
Florida Panthers Barkov Set To Return
Florida Panthers captain skated before practice Monday and is on track to return as early as this week on Florida’s upcoming three-game road trip against the New York Rangers (Thursday), New York Islanders (Saturday), or Buffalo Sabres (Oct. 28). The Florida Panthers play the Dallas Stars in the 2024 NHL Global Series presented by Fastenal in Barkov’s hometown of Tampere, Finland, on Nov. 1-2.
Aleksander Barkov is the Florida Panthers leader in several categories, including goals, assists, and game-winning goals. He had one assist in the first two games this season. He is a key player in the Panthers lineup are looking forward to his return at some point next week. Paul Maurice said Monday, “He is really in tune with his body, puts a lot of time into it, He was here for a long time [Wednesday] getting worked on. He will play as soon as he says he is 100 percent ready.”
Maurice indicated that Forward Matthew Tkachuk is likely to return against the Wild on Tuesday. Tkachuk missed the past five games due to an illness but now is ready to return for the Panthers. Since both forwards were out the Panthers played with 17 forwards and Defenseman Uvis Balinskis has been playing on the fourth line. Also, Forward Anton Lundell has stepped up for the Panthers as well. Lundell has four goals, three assists, and seven points in the five games without Barkov and Tkachuk. He has been sensational for the Panthers.
Final Thoughts
The Florida Panthers will come into Tuesday night’s game against the Minnesota Wild and will look to get another win on home ice. With Tkachuk back, it will certainly help the Panthers get back to rolling on all four lines with their core players. Despite not having two of the star players playing the past five games, the Panthers are 3-2. Their only loss was against the Vancouver Canucks in overtime, but they still managed to get a point in that game. The Panthers have managed to get seven out of the 10 points in the five games played.
The Panthers will play this last home game on ice before hitting the road for five games. They will head to Finland in November for the Global Series and then come home for a four-game homestand starting November 7.
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