The Florida Panthers have been without Aleksander Barkov due to injury in recent games. The Panthers defeated the Boston Bruins in their season opener as they raised their Stanley Cup banner. However, Barkov went down late in Florida's second game of the season against the Ottawa Senators. Barkov is not ready to return, but head coach Paul Maurice is optimistic about his injury timeline.

Maurice spoke with the media ahead of the Panthers' next contest. The Florida bench boss noted that his team is being cautious with their captain as he works his way back. In saying this, he is hoping Barkov can return before the team heads overseas for the NHL Global Series.

“We're hopeful that [Barkov returns] sometime on the New York trip,” Maurice said, via NHL.com. “It may not be, but we are quite confident that means in Finland. This kind of injury, you need a week of hard skating with no relapse. We're really happy with where it is.”

The New York trip in question begins on October 24. Florida heads to Broadway for a showdown with the New York Rangers. The Panthers then face the New York Islanders before concluding this trip on October 28 against the Buffalo Sabres.

Aleksander Barkov, other injuries force Panthers to get creative

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Aleksander Barkov is not the only player dealing with issues keeping them out of the lineup. For instance, the Panthers are also without Matthew Tkachuk due to an illness. Furthermore, Jonah Gadjovich left a game last week against the Vancouver Canucks. Florida played with just 17 healthy skaters on Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights as they defeated Vegas in overtime.

The injury issues at the top of the lineup have put Florida in a disadvantageous position. They are unable to call up anyone due to salary cap constraints. As a result, they have needed to use a bit of creativity when structuring their lineup. Defenseman Ulvis Balinskis has been deployed as a fourth-line forward in each of the last five games.

Paul Maurice is not looking to make the promising Panthers defender change positions by any means. “He was really good, positionally he was right,” the veteran bench boss said, via NHL.com. “I am not trying to turn him into a forward, but we're dealing with some things here.”

The Panthers have found success despite playing without two of their best players. In saying this, they would certainly welcome Barkov back to the lineup with open arms. A return during this upcoming New York road trip would definitely provide a huge boost heading into the NHL Global Series on November 1.