Aleksander Barkov will be out 2-3 weeks for the Florida Panthers because of a lower-body injury.
The center left a 3-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday with 1:10 remaining in the third period after sliding into the boards during a fight for the puck with Senators forward Tim Stutzle. Barkov did not put any weight on his right leg as he was helped off the ice and to the locker room.
Coach Paul Maurice said prior to the Panthers' 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday that the team is optimistic Barkov, who was born in Tampere, Finland, will return prior to their games against the Dallas Stars in the 2024 NHL Global Series Finland presented by Fastenal on Nov. 1-2.
"We think 2-3 weeks," Maurice said. "That's probably the right window on him. He's a strong healer. He's just a big powerful man. Puts a lot of torque on his joints. ... He may play prior to that (Global Series) as well, but it may also take us that amount of time."
Barkov, who has one assist in two games this season, was third on the Panthers (1-2-0) last season with 80 points (23 goals, 57 assists) in 73 regular-season games. He also tied for the Panthers lead with 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 24 Stanley Cup Playoff games last season, helping them win the Cup for the first time in their history.
"I think, you know, the next man up," forward Evan Rodrigues said. "We started off last year missing two key players and obviously never want to want to lose anybody, but we'll have a next-man up mentality, and everyone will have to step up their game."
Anton Lundell moved up to center the top line with Eetu Luostarinen and Sam Reinhart in the loss to the Sabres.
"So, that's almost the default anytime Barkov's out of our lineup, we put that line back together, and it's more the production, probably," Maurice said. "[Reinhart] can play with Sam (Bennett), there's just never been great production between the two of them. They may have great chemistry now, we just haven't tried it in a long time. So, that's the default we go to."
NHL.com independent correspondent Heather Engel contributed to this report
