Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov left Game 3 with a lower-body injury against the Carolina Hurricanes and did not return — but the Finnish star looks to have avoided a serious injury and could be back for a series clinching Game 4 at FLA Live Arena on Wednesday.

Coach Paul Maurice confirmed on Tuesday that not only is Barkov's injury not believed to be serious, but at one point they were considering getting him back on the ice in Game 3.

“There was a point in time we thought he might come back into the game, but it didn't happen,” Maurice said in an interview on the Jose Rose Show on 560 WQAM. “We're hopeful with this one that it's not going to be long term. We don't think it's anything too sinister.”

It's absolutely excellent news for the Panthers; Barkov is a key leader on the team, and the 27-year-old has scored four goals and eight assists in 14 postseason contests.

The former Selke Trophy winner finished second among Florida skaters with 78 points in 68 regular-season games, behind only Matthew Tkachuk.

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“He'll come in and get worked on real hard today and worked on real hard tomorrow,” Maurice continued. “We'll have a better idea after we see him today where he's at, but I would say I'm more on the optimistic side right now.”

Barkov was injured with just over seven minutes to go in the first period, along the boards in the Panthers zone. The captain was hit by Hurricanes forward Jack Drury, a clean hit, which caused him to slowly skate to the bench and shortly after down the tunnel to the locker room.

Although he didn't return to the game, Florida was able to squeak out a 1-0 win on the back of another incredulous performance from the brick wall that is Sergei Bobrovsky.

Based on Paul Maurice's comments, Sasha Barkov should be back to his top-line center duties on Wednesday night as the Florida Panthers look to bury the Carolina Hurricanes and advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1996.