Aleksander Barkov is the most important player on the Florida Panthers, and the club is going to have to adjust to life without the captain for a little while. Barkov was injured in Thursday's loss to the Ottawa Senators after crashing into the boards attempting to stop Tim Stutzle scoring into an empty net.

Although there was significant concern surrounding the player after the 3-1 loss, Barkov avoided a worst-case injury, Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman confirmed on Saturday.

“We will see about exact timeline, but good news for Aleksander Barkov is imaging determined no fracture,” Friedman wrote. “So he will be out a bit, but worst outcomes avoided, thankfully.”

The Panthers can breathe a sigh of relief after the update, as the injury to the 29-year-old did not look good. He has already been ruled out for Saturday night's tilt with the Buffalo Sabres, but no timetable has yet been given surrounding the superstar.

Barkov did not practice on Saturday ahead of a road matchup in Western New York, meaning the earliest he could return is Monday night in a rematch with the Boston Bruins.

The center had one assist in two games this year before the injury; he posted 23 goals and 80 points in 73 contests in 2023-24. Barkov also tied for the Panthers lead with eight goals and 22 points in 24 postseason tilts to help Florida win its inaugural Stanley Cup.

Panthers will have to tread water without Aleksander Barkov

Ottawa Senators center Tim Stutzle (18) scores an empty net goal after battling with Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) who sustained an injury on the play in the third period at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images
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With Barkov out, either Sam Bennett or Anton Lundell will likely move to the top line to center Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe. It would make sense to keep the line of Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk and Evan Rodrigues together, so it's more likely that Lundell will move into a top-six role.

As well, Patrick Giles will likely slot into the lineup; the 24-year-old is yet to play an NHL game, but put up 23 points in 66 games for the American Hockey League's Charlotte Checkers in 2023-24. He was recalled by the Panthers on Friday, and could make his debut as soon as Saturday night.

After Thursday's loss, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said Barkov was “going to get looked at here tonight and probably tomorrow, as well.” While no fracture was discovered, there's still a chance that he misses more than just one game.

Barkov didn't put any weight on his right leg after the injury and needed to be helped off the ice and to Florida's locker room. Still, it's a promising sign that the club didn't put him on LTIR, meaning the ailment likely isn't expected to be of the month-to-month variety.

A more concrete timetable will likely be determined in the coming days, but losing the reigning Selke Trophy winner for any period of time is irreplaceable for a Panthers team that is looking to avoid back-to-back losses on Saturday.

Puck drops between the Sabres and Panthers from KeyBank Center just past 7:00 p.m ET.