SUNRISE, Fla., --With their season potentially on the line, the Florida Panthers will be without All-Star center Aleksander Barkov when they host the Buffalo Sabres at BB&T Center at BB&T Center on Saturday.
Barkov suffered an upper-body injury in the third period of Thursday's 3-2 win over Boston after absorbing a hit from Bruins center Colby Cave along the boards. The injury is considered upper-body and will keep him out of the lineup for at least the final two games of the regular season.
Without Barkov, Panthers go for Record Wins at Home vs. Buffalo
Barkov, 22, leads the Panthers with a career-high 78 points (27 goals, 51 assists) this season.
"He's out for the weekend," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. "Day to day, but he won't be available this weekend… it's definitely not this weekend, but it's something that's not a long-term, you know, surgery-kind-of repair. It's just rehab."
In Barkov's absence, Vincent Trocheck will center Florida's top line, while Jared McCann will be promoted from third to second-line pivot. On Thursday, McCann scored the game-winning goal in his first shift after filling in for Barkov on Florida's top line.
"To be getting this opportunity, I'm really thankful," said McCann, 21, who has tied a career high with nine goals this season. "I'm going to make the most of it… We obviously need some help from around the league to make the playoffs, but we're just going to control what we can control and play hard tonight."
With two games remaining in the season, the Panthers will need some help in order to complete their miraculous second-half comeback and reach the playoffs. Not only must they win their final two games, but Philadelphia must lose in regulation to the New York Rangers on Saturday.
If the Flyers beat the Rangers this afternoon in regulation, Florida will be eliminated.
"We're not sure we're going to get that help," Boughner said. "We have to focus like this is the most important game of the year for us tonight. I'm sure that TV will be on in the dressing room before the game and guys will be following it, but that's the situation we're in.
"There's a lot of great things that are happening right now and that have happened this year. But, unfortunately, we need some help. I just told the guys to focus. Just like we're playing Boston, just like we're playing Nashville. We're going to need our best."
Regardless of how Philadelphia's matchup with the Rangers pans out, the Panthers will still be playing for history against the Sabres. With a 26-11-3 record at home this season, Florida can set a new franchise record for the most wins in a single season at home if they top Buffalo.
The Panthers are 13-2-0 over their last 15 home games, including a franchise-record eight straight wins during that span. In that time, they have scored 51 goals and allowed just 32.
Florida's 51 goals scored on home ice since Feb. 22 is the most in the NHL.
"I think we've established our game at home," Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson said. "Early on in the year we were struggling, both at home and away. I think there was one stretch where we had a lot of home games in a row, and it was during that stretch that we were able to begin establishing ourselves and start playing the way that we wanted to play. I think that is really important for a team, to make sure that when teams come into your building they know it's going to be a hard game and it's not just going to be a walk in the park."
After winning three games in four nights, Roberto Luongo will start in net for the Panthers.
Luongo, who played in his 1,000th NHL game on Thursday, has registered a 10-2-0 record over his last 12 starts at home. Over his last three starts (3-0-0), the 39-year-old veteran has stopped 98 of 103 shots to raise his overall save percentage to .929 - his best since 2003-04.
Luongo is also 19-8-2 against the Sabres in his career, posting five shutouts.
The Sabres (25-44-12) have lost eight of their last 10 games and currently own the worst record in the NHL. Still, Buffalo has been giving teams a tough time as of late, scoring five goals in a 7-5 loss in Tampa on Wednesday and beating Nashville, 7-4, on March 31.
"We're really helping for some help from New York tonight. It would be great if they could pull one out for us," McCann said. "But we can't overlook [Buffalo]. They put up five goals against Tampa Bay, which is a good team. We've got to be good defensively. We're going to get our chances, but we've got to focus on playing well in front of Lu. The rest will take care of itself."
NOTES
-- Aaron Ekblad enters tonight's game ranking tied for second in the NHL among defenseman in goals scored (16). With one more goal, he will break a tie with Jason Garrison for first place on the franchise's single-season goal-scoring list among blue liners.
-- Keith Yandle enters tonight's game ranking first among Florida's defensemen in points (55), assists (47) and power-play points (18), while also leading the club in total ice time (1958:34). In the midst of his third 50-point campaign, Yandle is the third defenseman in franchise history to reach 50 points in a season, joining Robert Svehla (1995-96) and Brian Campbell (2011-12).
-- Colton Sceviour enters tonight's game with points in three consecutive games. His game-winning goal on April 3 against Nashville marked the second time in his career he has reached the 10-goal mark in a season.
-- Jamie McGinn has posted eight points (three goals, five assists) over his last 10 games.
PROJECTED LINEUP
Forwards
Evgenii Dadonov - Vincent Trocheck - Colton Sceviour
Jonathan Huberdeau - Jared McCann - Nick Bjugstad
Frank Vatrano - Denis Malgin - Jamie McGinn
Micheal Haley - Derek MacKenzie - Maxim Mamin
Defense
Keith Yandle - Aaron Ekblad
Mike Matheson - Mark Pysyk
MacKenzie Weegar - Alexander Petrovic
Goalies
Roberto Luongo
James Reimer
Scratches: Aleksander Barkov, Connor Brickley, Henrik Borgstrom, Radim Vrbata, Ian McCoshen
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
-- April 4: F Owen Tippett reassigned to Springfield (AHL)
-- March 26: F Henrik Borgstrom signed to a three-year, entry-level contract
-- March 26: G Harri Sateri loaned to Springfield (AHL)
-- March 24: G Harri Sateri recalled from Springfield (AHL)
-- March 10: F Frank Vatrano activated from IR
HOW TO WATCH
When: Saturday, April 7, 7:00 p.m.
Where: BB&T Center - Sunrise, FL
TV coverage: FOX Sports Florida (check local listings)
Florida Panthers Radio Network Presented by HARD Lifestyle Beverages: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 1370 WAXE (Treasure Coast)
Where to stream it: FOX Sports GO and
NHL.TV
(outside state of Florida)
Tickets:
https://www.nhl.com/panthers/tickets
