The Florida Panthers are looking to take a commanding 3-0 series lead against the Carolina Hurricanes. However, they may need to see out this leg of the Eastern Conference Finals without one of their superstars.

Panthers star Aleksander Barkov is questionable to return to Game 3, according to Sportsnet's Kyle Bukauskas. Barkov suffered the apparent injury about halfway through the first period on Monday.

The replay footage doesn't show anything egregious. Barkov collected the puck in his defensive zone and banged it off the boards to clear it. Hurricanes forward Jack Drury checked him into the boards before Barkov left the ice.

The official declaration for this injury is a “lower-body injury,” which is par for the course in the NHL. In any event, Florida continued on with one of their stars. And so far, they are holding their own.

The Panthers opened the scoring in Game 3 thanks to a goal from forward Sam Reinhart. Reinhart scored his seventh goal of these playoffs to give Florida a 1-0 lead they took into the second intermission.

The story of Game 3, however, remains Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. He has emerged as a Conn Smythe Trophy favorite thanks to his run of form. And he has kept the Hurricanes off the scoresheet through two periods on Monday night.

While the Panthers are playing well, Barkov is still a huge loss. Not only is the Finnish star an important piece to the team now, but he is already a franchise legend. Barkov has scored more points in franchise history than any player previous.

The Panthers have had an inspirational run to the Eastern Conference Finals, and are on the brink of the Stanley Cup Finals. Only time will tell if Barkov can return to the ice for the Panthers this playoff season.