With Aleksander Barkov still sidelined, Panthers’ Anton Lundell showing he can step up
Anton Lundell states the obvious part first: He wishes the circumstances didn’t put him in this position.
For the third consecutive game, Lundell will center the Florida Panthers’ top line when they play the Nashville Predators on Monday at Bridgestone Arena. It’s a sign of trust from the coaching staff that he can handle a larger workload when the team needs it.
But it’s also a sign that the Panthers are without their best player in captain Aleksander Barkov, who has been hampered by an unspecified lower-body injury for the past week.
“Nobody wants our captain to be away,” Lundell said. “He’s the leader. He’s our best player, but we need to be able to win games without him. ... Everybody wants to step up and even me. [I have a] bigger role. I just want to show up and be ready to step up.”
So far, Lundell has done just that.
While the Panthers have dropped both games Barkov has missed and enter Monday on a season-long four-game losing streak overall, Lundell’s production has increased since he was moved to the top line with Eetu Luostarinen on his left wing and All-Star Sam Reinhart to his right.
The 22-year-old has three points in those two games, scoring a goal and dishing out two assists.
“I feel great,” Lundell said. “Sometimes, it’s just harder times. For a long time, I wasn’t able to score from anywhere or I’d hit the post. Sometimes it comes, I just need to stay on it and keep working. That’s all I can do, improving myself every day. Now it’s been going in, and it feels even better. I know it’s there, but I just need to try to find ways to get my potential out.”
Added Panthers coach Paul Maurice: “Sam Reinhart has a piece of that, but also, bigger minutes, bigger role, more enthusiasm. Hopefully this is a jumpstart for him.”
Lundell, known for being a strong defensive forward, has struggled on the offensive end this season. He has just 16 points in 41 games played. His goal against the Minnesota Wild on Friday was just his third of the season and snapped a run of 21 consecutive games without a goal.
“It’s always fun to help the team that way,” Lundell said. “I always take the game as I want to play good both ways. I don’t want to give them too much, whichever line I’m playing against, but at the same time I want to create chances and help the team with goals as well.”
Injury updates
Barkov did not travel with the Panthers to Nashville, with the team opting to have him continue his rehab in South Florida.
“We have 45 minutes on the ice in Nashville, max. They kick you off the ice,” Maurice said, adding that skills coach Maxim Ivanov is staying back with Barkov. “So he gets a full skate … and he can be on the ice for an hour today and an hour tomorrow. And we’ve got a full gym here — you don’t at the hotel and you don’t at the rink.
Nick Cousins, meanwhile, did travel with the team and will get ice time despite still recovering from a concussion. Cousins has skated in two full team practices so far in a non-contact yellow jersey.
“Good enough to get back, but he’s still in gold,” Maurice said. “No contact has happened and we still have to wait for him to pass his tests. There’s a whole bunch of steps you have to go through. He’s not at the contact or pass-the-test stage yet, so he’s still got some time.”
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