Florida’s first loss of the season may have come with a big price, as captain Aleksander Barkov left the game with 1:10 left after crashing into the boards and getting injured.
Barkov was trying to stop an empty-net goal when he got hurt while chasing a loose puck that Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle sent into the net to secure the Senators’ 3-1 victory. As Barkov and Stutzle got tangled, Barkov crashed feet-first into the boards at high speed, showing immediate signs of pain.
It took Barkov about a minute to get back on his feet, and he needed help from teammates Evan Rodrigues and Uvis Balinskis to leave the ice and head to the Florida locker room for evaluation.
There was no quick update on the type or seriousness of the injury, but it seemed Barkov could not put weight on his right leg, which he flexed a few times while leaving the ice.
“He’s going to get looked at here tonight, and probably tomorrow as well,” said Panthers coach Paul Maurice after the game in Ottawa.
The Panthers were set to fly to Buffalo on Friday afternoon and will face the Sabres on Saturday.
The play started simply, with Barkov in the offensive zone trying to help Florida tie the game. Trailing 2-1, he attempted a wrist shot from just inside the blue line, but broke his stick in the process. The puck barely moved before Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk flipped it toward the empty Panthers net.
Without a stick, Barkov chased after the play but was unable to prevent Stutzle from scoring.
The 29-year-old Barkov, who won the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward, is in his 12th season with the Panthers. He became the first Finnish-born player to captain a Stanley Cup champion when Florida won the title against Edmonton last season.
The Panthers are scheduled to play two games in Barkov’s home country on November 1 and 2, traveling to Tampere, Finland, for matches against the Dallas Stars.
