Florida Panthers
Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad are expected to return to the lineup possibly as soon as their game against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; BSFL, NESN, SNP, SNO, SNE, TVAS).
Barkov, a center, missed his third straight game because of a lower-body injury when the Panthers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 on the road Sunday. Ekblad, a defenseman, missed a sixth straight game because of a lower-body injury.
"Barkov is close," coach Paul Maurice said before the game. "Ekblad is right on schedule. He was kind of middle of next week, that was the idea. Next week sometime is probably a more accurate way to put it. Barkov may play against Boston. If not, it'll be the next one (against the New York Islanders on Thursday), I think."
Florida is 2-3-1 without Ekblad and 1-1-1 without Barkov, but Maurice says it's important for other players to step up.
"This is good for us to go through now," he said. "Yeah, I want [Barkov] back in the lineup; it changes everything. He's your No. 1 center. ... All we're looking at is opportunity for all these guys to make a difference to our team. That's all it is.
"Nobody ever comes into your office and says, 'Hey, you're playing me too much and you're giving me too much opportunity.' It's usually, 'Hey, I think I can do more to help the team,' so tonight's your night."
The Panthers (46-20-5) are tied for first in the Atlantic Division with the Boston Bruins. -- Adam Kimelman
Colorado Avalanche
Pavel Francouz is unlikely to play in the NHL again, general manager Chris MacFarland said Monday.
Appearing on the “DNVR Avalanche” podcast, MacFarland compared the 33-year-old goalie’s time away from the team as “enjoying retirement,” because of a lower-body injury sustained last season.
“I use that word loosely, but there’s no sense that we get that he’s amping up or looking to play,” MacFarland said.
Francouz hasn’t played since April 9, 2023, and had offseason adductor surgery. The Avalanche announced on Nov. 12, 2023, that he would not play this season.
“The injury was unfortunate, the timing of it was unfortunate,” MacFarland said, “but he’s back home and enjoying life, hopefully.”
Francouz is 44-21-6 with a 2.49 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in 73 regular-season games (65 starts).
He went 6-0-0- for the Avalanche in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, including winning all four games of a sweep of the Edmonton Oilers in the best-of-7 Western Conference Final.
He played one game in the Cup Final, relieving Darcy Kuemper in Game 3, a 6-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Colorado won the Cup with Kuemper starting Games 4-6.
