Panthers without captain Aleksander Barkov for key divisional game against Maple Leafs
A Florida Panthers lineup already missing three key players was without a fourth in a critical divisional game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Captain Aleksander Barkov, who missed time in the second period of Florida’s overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens, did play Wednesday against in Florida’s 3-2 loss to the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena due to an upper-body injury.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice postgame listed Barkov as “day to day.”
“He’ll play as soon as he’s healthy,” Maurice said, “but I don’t think it’s a long-term deal.”
After the Panthers took a 1-0 lead 1:03 into the second period on Gustav Forsling’s 10th goal of the season, Toronto then scored three consecutive goals by William Nylander 11:31 into the second, Mitch Marner 10:50 into the third and Matthew Knies with 4:51 left in regulation. Sam Reinhart got Florida back within a goal with a power-play tally with 2:38 left in regulation but couldn’t get the equalizer as Toronto extended its lead atop the Atlantic Division.
The Maple Leafs (46-25-4, 96 points) now have a three-point cushion on the Tampa Bay Lightning (44-25-5, 93 points) and four-point advantage on the Panthers (44-27-4, 92 points) in the division standings. Toronto and Florida each have seven games left to play; Tampa Bay has eight more games on its schedule. The Panthers play one more game apiece this season against the Maple Leafs and Lightning, while Toronto and Tampa Bay also face off one more time this season.
Barkov, who centers Florida’s top line, has 67 points (19 points, 48 assists) in 64 games. He is on the top power play, integral on the penalty kill and is second among Panthers forwards in average time on ice per game (20:25).
In addition to Barkov being out, Florida is still without two key defensemen in Aaron Ekblad (suspension) and Dmitry Kulikov (upper-body injury) as well as star winger Matthew Tkachuk (lower-body injury). Moreover, fourth-line center Nico Sturm also did not play Wednesday following a collision with teammate AJ Greer in the first period Tuesday at Montreal.
With that, Maurice had to overhaul his forward lines. Anton Lundell took over top center responsibilities, with Eetu Luostarinen and Sam Reinhart on his wings. Sam Bennett centered Carter Verhaeghe and Brad Marchand on the second line. Evan Rodrigues, who has spent the majority of the season on the wing, centered Mackie Samoskevich and Jesper Boqvist on the third line. And then Tomas Nosek centered the fourth line with Greer and Jonah Gadjovich on the wings.
Florida continues this four-game road trip with games against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday and Detroit Red Wings on Sunday.
This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 7:22 PM.
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