The Florida Panthers will be without captain Aleksander Barkov for at least a couple more games as the star forward continues to battle an illness. The Panthers revealed that Barkov has been dealing with a non-COVID-related illness, which forced him to miss Saturday's game against the St. Louis Blues. Now, per George Richard of Florida Hockey Now, Barkov is not expected to play in either of the Panthers' upcoming two games.

While the Panthers have not made clear specifically what the illness is that's hampering Barkov, they've already ruled him out for Florida's two upcoming games against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. That means his next chance to play will be against the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 1

The Panthers are starting a five-game road trip on Monday, during which they'll play in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Seattle, and Winnipeg. They'll return home on Dec. 8 for a matchup with the Red Wings.

Barkov has been dealing with the illness for nearly two weeks, having missed a game vs. the Dallas Stars on Nov. 17 while under the weather. 10 days later, Barkov is still under the weather and the fact that the team has already ruled him out for their upcoming two games is a bit concerning.

Barkov will not be traveling with the team to Edmonton or Calgary, but the Panthers haven't ruled out the possibility of him re-joining the squad in Vancouver, should he be recovered from his illness. That would enable him to be on the ice for the final three games of the Panthers' road trip.

This season, Aleksander Barkov has featured in 19 games, registering 18 points including five goals and 13 assists. He racked up 88 points across 67 games last season.