The Florida Panthers are coming off their first loss of the year, dropping a 5-2 final to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday to move 3-1-0 on the year. The squad was without Dmitry Kulikov as he was injured in an earlier game with the Flyers, which the Panthers won 2-1 last Thursday night.
Now, the team has provided a disappointing update on his injury.
“Had surgery this morning to repair a labral tear,” head coach Paul Maurice told the media, including team reporter Jameson Olive.
The injury occurred in the October 9th game with the Flyers as Kulikov attempted to make a hit on Bobby Brink in the second period. He also connected with the boards, leading to the injury. He is now expected to be out for five months.
This is not the first major injury for the team this year. Matthew Tkachuk is expected to be out until December with a lower-body injury. Tomas Nosek is also out with a knee injury and is expected to be out until at least mid-December. But most devastatingly, during training camp, captain Aleksander Barkov injured his knee and is expected to miss the entire campaign.
“We’re not allowing any short-term injuries this year,” Maurice remarked with a hint of sarcasm when speaking to the media.
Regardless, it is a next-man-up mentality for the Panthers, as it has been with the other ailments.
“Dmitry is like some of the other players we have out of our lineup. He is unique in his role. Excellent penalty killer, physical player in the 5-6, but he can skate and close gaps. That’s the hole. … You don’t replace these guys that we have out of the lineup, but the weight doesn’t get heavier. You just have fewer guys to lift. Everybody shares it,” explained the Panthers head coach.
Uvis Balinskis is expected to fill the hole while Kulikov is out of the lineup. He has played in two games this year, going without a point, but averaging 13:45 of ice time per game.
The Panthers will next take the ice on Wednesday night as they visit the Detroit Red Wings, looking to improve to 4-1 on the 2025-26 season.
