With Aleksander Barkov ‘week-to-week,’ a look at how the Panthers replace his production
Don’t expect Aleksander Barkov on the ice any time soon.
The Florida Panthers’ captain and star center is “week-to-week” with a lower-body injury sustained in the second period of the Panthers’ 6-1 win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
Interim coach Andrew Brunette said Barkov does not need surgery, but he will miss an extended period of time.
“It could’ve been worse,” Brunette said. “We’ll deal with it as go.”
It’s the latest gut check to a team that, at 11-2-3, is off to the best start in the NHL and has legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations.
The injury happened with 18:13 left in the second period after Barkov took a knee-on-knee check from Scott Mayfield in the Panthers’ offensive zone. Barkov stayed down on the ice for a few minutes before eventually skating to the bench. He didn’t put any weight on his left leg.
Brunette said after having a chance to reviewing the play on video, he didn’t think Mayfield was malicious or dirty, but he did call it “reckless.”
“I think it was very unfortunate,” Brunette said. “A little bit reckless. He was just trying to finish his check, but we lost a player.”
But Barkov’s injury does mean the Panthers’ depth will be tested, starting Thursday against the New Jersey Devils. Barkov is the Panthers’ franchise leader in goals scored and plays in all situations, serving as the center on the top power play unit and as one of Florida’s primary penalty-killing forwards. He leads the team with nine goals and 17 points and is tied for fourth with eight assists.
“That’s obviously a tough guy to see go down,” veteran winger Patric Hornqvist added. “He’s our leader. He’s our best player and we need him to go where we want to be, so I hope he’s going to be all right. It’s hockey. Things are going to happen, but it’s tough to see him go down.”
Florida, however, has also shown this season has shown it isn’t relying on just one player to define its team. Sixteen players have scored at least one goal, with six players recording at least five goals through the first 16 games of the season.
“Guys are gonna step up,” center Sam Bennett said. “We care about each other a lot in that locker room. Everyone’s just gotta step up their game a little bit.”
And that means some line changes are coming.
Bennett moved up to the top line to center Anthony Duclair and Jonathan Huberdeau after Barkov was injured Tuesday, and that line remained the same in practice on Wednesday.
The three have shared a line in 5-on-5 situations in 22 games during the past two years and have generally had success. The Panthers have outscored opponents 7-0 and outshot opponents 41-29 in the 68:25 the three have been on the ice together in full-strength situations.
“They played really well in those stretches last year,” Brunette said. “Duke’s playing at a really high level, and Benny’s kind of coming. He missed some time. He’s getting his feet wet and I’m looking forward to watching them play.”
Bennett added: “We were excited about it in practice, Talking about our chemistry from last year. We’re definitely looking forward to getting an opportunity to play again.
Anton Lundell in turn took Bennett’s spot as the second-line center with Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart on the wings.
Joe Thornton, who hasn’t played since October, was on the third line with Frank Vatrano and Owen Tippett and is likely to be active Thursday.
The fourth line of left wing Ryan Lomberg, center Eetu Luostarinen and right wing Hornqvist remained intact and for good reason. The line scored two of Florida’s four first-period goals on Tuesday.
“Barky’s irreplaceable as we all know,” Brunette said, “but we have guys that can step up and definitely we have some guys that can be first-line centers in this league. We’re very fortunate to have the depth we have through the middle of the ice.”
As for the power play, the top group in practice Wednesday featured Huberdeau, Reinhart, Bennett, Duclair and defenseman Aaron Ekblad, while Tippett, Hornqvist, Thornton, Vatrano and Brandon Montour took the bulk of the second-unit reps.
And on the penalty kill, expect Luostarinen to get extended minutes. His average 1:40 ice time per game on the penalty kill is fifth on the team among forwards behind Lundell (2:56), Huberdeau (2:17), Barkov (2:15) and Bennett (1:48), but Luostarinen was given extra looks on the PK during the one game Barkov missed earlier this season against the Carolina Hurricanes.
“It gives everybody an opportunity to grow as a group here and fill in different roles,” Brunette said. “But again, it’s unfortunate.”
This story was originally published November 17, 2021 at 12:54 PM.
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