The Florida Panthers have struggled massively without their captain and most responsible defensemen, losing four games in a row for just the second time this season with both Sasha Barkov and Aaron Ekblad on the shelf.
The Cats lost four consecutive contests between March 14-23, costing the club the top stop in the Eastern Conference — and ClutchPoints' weekly NHL Power Rankings.
But reinforcements could be on the way.
Both Barkov and Ekblad could return to the lineup as soon as Tuesday night against the Boston Bruins, a crucial tilt that will help to decide the winner of the Atlantic Division in just three weeks' time.
“Barkov is close,” Florida head coach Paul Maurice said before Sunday's 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, according to NHL.com's Adam Kimelman.
“Ekblad is right on schedule. He was kind of middle of next week, that was the idea. Next week sometime is probably a more accurate way to put it. Barkov may play against Boston. If not, it'll be the next one [against the New York Islanders on Thursday], I think.”
Barkov has missed three consecutive games due to a nagging lower-body injury, while Ekblad has been out of the lineup for six straight contests.
Panthers faltering without key players
Along with Barkov and Ekblad, the Panthers have also been without Gustav Forsling, and the results have not been encouraging. Similar to the beginning of the season when Ekblad and Brandon Montour were recovering from shoulder surgery, the team is mired in a mini-slump with just 11 games left in the regular-season.
After an insane stretch that saw the squad win a ridiculous 21 of 24 games to vault into top spot in league standings, it's been a different story over the last week-and-a-half. The team is 2-3-1 without Ekblad and 1-1-1 sans Barkov, but lost four straight games to four difficult opponents.
The Panthers fell to the Carolina Hurricanes (4-0), Tampa Bay Lightning (5-3), Nashville Predators (3-0) and New York Rangers (4-3 SO), in that order. They were able to right the ship on Sunday against the Flyers, but it's still been a discouraging stretch for a team looking to make another deep playoff run in 2024.
“This is good for us to go through now,” Maurice explained, per Kimelman. “Yeah, I want [Barkov] back in the lineup; it changes everything. He's your No. 1 center. … All we're looking at is opportunity for all these guys to make a difference to our team. That's all it is.
“Nobody ever comes into your office and says, ‘Hey, you're playing me too much and you're giving me too much opportunity.' It's usually, ‘Hey, I think I can do more to help the team,' so tonight's your night.”
Entering Tuesday night's game, the Panthers and Bruins are tied for first in the Atlantic Division. With or without Sasha Barkov and Aaron Ekblad, it promises to be an electric tilt at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise.
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