INJURY: Barkov ‘felt better today’ after high hit in Game 2 win over Oilers

FORT LAUDERDALE – The Florida Panthers are feeling optimistic about Aleksander Barkov’s status after the superstar center was the victim of a high hit during a 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday at Amerant Bank Arena.

Following the team’s recovery day at the Baptist Health IcePlex on Tuesday, head coach Paul Maurice said the Panthers are taking a day-by-day approach to their captain's recovery.

“He came in today and wasn’t worse,” Maurice said. “That’s a really good thing. The assessment will be tomorrow. If he continues to progress, we should be in good shape.”

This year’s Selke Trophy winner and a Conn Smythe contender for his outstanding play in the playoffs, Barkov missed the final 9:28 of Game 2 after being hit in the head by Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl while he attempted to play the puck along the wall in Florida’s zone.

Down on the ice for a while after the hit, Barkov eventually skated to the locker room under his own power.

Despite leaving his feet on the hit and making direct contact with Barkov’s head, Draisaitl was only give a two-minute minor penalty for roughing. Letting their pay serve as payback for the hit, Evan Rodrigues scored on the ensuing power play to extend Florida’s lead to 3-1.

After the game, the Panthers avoided commenting on the headshot.

Still waiting to see if any supplemental discipline will come from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety prior to Game 3, Maurice said the Panthers are ready to move on from the hit.

“The refs called a penalty on the ice,” Maurice said. “The league looks just about every single hit. They’ll make their decision and then we're not dealing with that any more today."

As for next steps in regard to Barkov, who’s logged 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) and a team-high 26 takeaways while averaging 21:31 of ice time over 19 games this postseason, the Panthers are hoping for more positive news on Wednesday before flying to Edmonton.

“We had some things that needed to be looked at today that got looked at, so there’s nothing sinister there [with the injury],” Maurice said. “He kind of passed that. He felt better today. Feels good. But you’ve got to give it another 24 hours to make sure that he feels strong.”

In other injury news, defenseman Aaron Ekblad and forward Eetu Luostarinen are both considered fine after briefly exiting in the first period of Game 2 following a pair of scary-looking collisions.

“We’re good,” Maurice said of the duo's status moving forward.

With a chance to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers will visit the Oilers for Game 3 at Rogers Place on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.

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