The Florida Panthers go into their third game of the new season with injuries creating the biggest headlines, which was the case during the 2025-26 campaign.
When the Panthers visit the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night, they will be without center and team captain Aleksander Barkov, who was placed on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury on Saturday. He must miss at least 10 games.
Barkov left the second period of Florida’s 4-3 overtime loss to the host San Jose Sharks on Thursday after going down awkwardly while battling for the puck. He missed the entire 2025-26 season with ACL and MCL injuries to his right knee sustained on the first day of training camp. Barkov was able to play for Finland in the IIHF World Championship, helping the team win the gold medal in May.
The injury on Thursday night appeared to be to his left leg.
“It’s not related to his injury last year at all,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said after Thursday’s game.
Maurice told reporters on Saturday that Barkov would return to Florida to be examined by the team’s medical personnel to determine the exact nature of the latest injury.
Barkov, 31, is a three-time winner of the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s top defensive forward and was a key part of the Panthers’ Stanley Cup-winning teams in 2024 and 2025.
Florida began Thursday’s game without defenseman Gustav Forsling due to an upper-body injury. Forsling scored in the Panthers’ 1-0 overtime win over the host Carolina Hurricanes in the season opener on Tuesday.
Brad Marchand (lower body) is expected to miss the entire month of October due to a surgical procedure in August, and winger Jonah Gadjovich is on long-term injured reserve. He has been out since having neck surgery last November.
Maurice said Forsling is a game-time decision on Sunday night.
Center Sam Lafferty and defenseman Alexander Petrovic were recalled from AHL Charlotte on Saturday.
Eetu Luostarinen scored twice in the loss on Thursday and Matthew Tkachuk added a goal. Akira Schmid made 28 saves in his Panthers’ debut.
The Ducks are coming off their season opener on Friday night, when they held on for a 4-3 win over the host Vegas Golden Knights, who eliminated Anaheim in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs last season. The Ducks led 4-0 after two periods.
“First one done, 83 more to go,” said goalie Lukas Dostal, who stopped 27 shots.
Leo Carlsson had a goal and an assist Friday for the Ducks.
Carlsson, 21, signed a five-year, $90 million offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers during the offseason, which Anaheim matched.
“I think from the day that we drafted him, we viewed him as a cornerstone piece of our rebuild, and that hasn’t changed,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said. “We feel that Leo at some point, and I wouldn’t say next year, but I think over the course of this contract, is going to show the elite player that he is, and it’s going to give us great reasons for why we matched this offer.”
Carlsson had 29 goals and 67 points in 70 games last season and added four goals and 11 points in 12 playoff games.
Beckett Sennecke, Alex Killorn and Jeff Malott also scored for the Ducks on Friday.
