ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Florida Panthers will take the ice Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center without captain Aleksander Barkov, who landed on long-term injured reserve after suffering an injury during the second period of Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime loss in San Jose and will miss at least the next 10 games and 24 days.
With the Panthers sitting at 1-0-1 on their season-opening road trip, coach Paul Maurice expressed confidence in the roster’s depth. “There’s lots of faith on the bench, behind the bench, when you lose an important player,” Maurice said. “We’ve got good players here, and we should be able to handle it.”
Lars Eller, the 18-year NHL veteran who joined Florida on a one-year contract in July, has stepped into Barkov’s spot, centering a line with Brady Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart. Eller brings 1,186 career games of experience, 440 points (193 goals, 247 assists) and a 50.5% faceoff win rate to the role. “I’m going to try to complement my linemates as good as I can,” Eller said. “No one’s going to be able to replace Sasha Barkov, and I’m not trying to. I’m just trying to play to my own identity and complement my linemates. I’m playing with really good players no matter what, and I welcome that opportunity.”
Defenseman Gustav Forsling, a late scratch before Tuesday’s San Jose game due to an upper-body injury, is listed as a game-time decision against Anaheim. A two-time Stanley Cup champion, Forsling has posted 221 points (60 goals, 161 assists) and a plus-154 rating across 558 career NHL games. The Panthers also recalled defenseman Alexander Petrovic and forward Sam Lafferty from the AHL on Saturday. Petrovic has 60 points (7 goals, 53 assists) in 323 career NHL games; Lafferty has 92 points (41 goals, 51 assists) over 378 career NHL games.
Maurice flagged Anaheim’s speed as the primary challenge, drawing a direct comparison to the Sharks. “Great transition game,” he said of the Ducks. “Whether it’s breakaways or rush goals, they’re dynamic at that. I thought their young defense played very, very well, especially closing that game out [at Vegas] because the risk profiles change. I thought they handled that really well. But the Western Conference in general plays quite a bit different style of hockey than it’s played in the East. I think we’ll see something that looks more like San Jose’s game.”
Anaheim opened its season Friday with a 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena after building a 4-0 lead. Leo Carlsson led the Ducks with two points (one goal, one assist) in that game. The 21-year-old center signed a five-year, $90 million contract extension with Anaheim in July, making him the highest-paid player in the NHL this season. Forward Cutter Gauthier, signed to a six-year, $81 million extension on Sept. 15, has scored four goals in four career games against Florida and set career highs last season with 41 goals, 28 assists and 69 points.
The Panthers hold a 9-1-2 record in their last 11 games against Anaheim. Florida ranks fourth in the NHL with 84 hits this season and has killed nine of its first 10 penalties. Eetu Luostarinen, who scored twice in San Jose to spark the comeback, enters Sunday with momentum; he has surpassed 10 goals in three of the past four seasons, including 11 in 2025-26.
Sunday’s game at Honda Center is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET and can be heard on 560 WQAM-AM in Miami-Dade and Broward counties and 100.3 WCTH-FM in the Florida Keys.