It didn’t take long for the Panthers to have an injury scare now that veterans are back on the ice in training camp. Aleksander Barkov had to be helped off the ice after suffering what looks like a right leg injury.
“He’ll get looked at today,” Paul Maurice said. “I’ll have a better answer for you tomorrow.
“It’s beyond our control, so there’s no concern,” he added. “We have to learn to win a games without good players. If that’s the adversity or the test that we face this year, and that’s what we’re going to do. I not a doctor, so whatever the report is, won’t affect how we handle that next day. If he’s not in line up on Opening Night, or if he misses an exhibition game, or if he’s out long term, it’s just not going to affect that day. We’ve got win the hockey game. We got to prep for it. That’s all.”
The Panthers next preseason game is Monday night in Sunrise against the Hurricanes, when Maurice planned to play some of his NHL regulars for the first time. Barkov missed eight games last year due to a knee injury suffered in the second game of the season.