SUNRISE - Florida Panthers captain Sasha Barkov left Thursday night’s season-opening road game in San Jose with a left leg injury and is scheduled to be evaluated Friday in southern California, coach Paul Maurice said, raising fresh concerns about the star center who missed all of last season with a reconstructed knee.
Barkov went down in the corner while fighting for the puck with Darnell Nurse and Zach Ostapchuk, his left leg buckling before he hopped off the ice, pushed open the door and limped down the tunnel into the visitors’ room at SAP Center. He did not return. Florida rallied from a 3-0 deficit but lost 4-3 in overtime.
“We’ll have a good idea by tomorrow afternoon,” Maurice told Florida Hockey Now.
Maurice was careful to note that the new injury is not related to the right knee Barkov damaged last September, which cost him the entire 2025-26 season after his knee buckled during one of his first on-ice drills of training camp. Barkov underwent reconstructive surgery on his MCL and ACL, did not return to skating until January, and was practicing with the Panthers before the season ended - though he would have been cleared had Florida reached the playoffs.
Instead, Barkov captained Finland to a gold medal at the IIHF World Championship. Tuesday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes was his first NHL appearance since Game 6 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final.
“It was great, just a little different,” Barkov said after Tuesday’s return. “The speed of the game is really fast. I missed a whole season, and coming here for the first one, I knew it would be a fast-paced game. I think we did a good job, and I am happy with that.”
Barkov added that his mental state heading into the new season had been solid. “I feel good, haven’t had any problems with overthinking or anything like that,” he said. “Just trying to play my game, trying to do my things. I am playing with really good players, and that helps me a lot.”
The Panthers, now two games into their season-opening road trip, face the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday at Honda Center at 8 p.m. Florida leads the all-time regular season series against Anaheim 23-17-2, with three ties. Last season the Ducks won 2-0. South Florida fans can watch on Scripps Sports - WSFL 39 in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, WHDT 9 in West Palm Beach, and LAFF 36.3 in Naples and Fort Myers - or stream on Panthers+ and ESPN+. Radio coverage is available on WQAM, WBZT 1230-AM in Palm Beach, WCTH 100.3-FM in the Florida Keys, and SiriusXM. The Panthers’ next game after Anaheim is Tuesday at the Los Angeles Kings on ESPN at 10 p.m.