Florida Panthers captain and top-line center Aleksander Barkov sustained a lower-body injury late in their 3-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday at Canadian Tire Centre to start a four-game road trip.
The injury occurred with 1:10 left in regulation when Barkov skated down the length of the ice in an attempt to defend Ottawa forward Tim Stutzle, who was charging toward an empty Panthers net. Barkov, whose stick broke on a shot attempt before this exchange, laid out his body trying to stop the shot and keep Florida at a one-goal deficit, but Stutzle scored his second goal of the game and Barkov crashing feet first into the boards.
Barkov stayed down for a couple minutes while being checked on by a team trainer. Forward Evan Rodrigues and defenseman Uvis Balinskis had to help Barkov off the ice