The Florida Panthers finished their season-opening road trip with a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings late Tuesday night, getting just enough from Jacob Markstrom in goal and a third-period finish from Matthew Tkachuk to leave California with a victory.
It was a needed result, but it came with another injury scare that left the night feeling heavier than the final score suggested. Brad Marchand went down late in the second period and appeared to suffer a severe injury to his left knee after charging the net and getting his left leg caught underneath him. Marchand, who had just returned to the lineup Sunday, needed help off the ice from Brady Tkachuk and Niko Mikkola.
That came after Sasha Barkov was hurt last Thursday in San Jose, turning the trip into one the Panthers will be happy to put behind them.
Still, Florida exits the road swing at 2-0-2 and has banked six of eight possible points to open the season. Tuesday also marked the Panthers’ first game decided in regulation this year.
The Kings opened the scoring late in the first period when Alex Laferriere slipped open on the left side of the cage and finished a sharp feed from Erik Haula at 19:00. Florida then had to survive a major test early in the second, as Eetu Luostarinen and Dmitry Kulikov both went to the box and Los Angeles worked a long 5-on-3 power play. The Panthers killed that off, and they also survived the second half of Kulikov’s double-minor for high-sticking.
Once Kulikov stepped out of the box, Seth Jones jumped into the play and tied it with a strong push to the net, lifting the puck over Darcy Kuemper at 3:49 of the second. The game stayed knotted until the third, when Los Angeles coughed it up in the neutral zone. Sam Bennett picked up the loose puck and fed Tkachuk, who scored from the right circle at 11:20 for Florida’s first regulation lead of the season.
Markstrom finished with 19 saves and improved to 2-0-1 since rejoining the Panthers in June.
There was at least one more positive note beyond the final score: Eetu Luostarinen left in the second period after being struck in the leg by a Brad Marchand shot, but he returned for the third. Florida also got some good news on the Sasha Barkov front Tuesday.
The trip ends with the Panthers heading home for their first game at Amerant Bank Arena, where they’ll host the Minnesota Wild on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Sunrise.
In Other News...
Panthers Suddenly Have Much Less Reason To Chase Dylan Larkin
Aleksander Barkovs lower-body injury changes the calculus in Florida, even if it does not appear to change the long-term outlook. The Panthers captain is expected to miss six to eight weeks, but he will not need surgery, which at least keeps the door open for a cleaner return later in the season. In the short term, though, it leaves the Panthers without their top center and naturally invites a little roster-watching from the outside.
That is where the Dylan Larkin chatter had started to build, with the Detroit center back in the lineup after an injury and a trade request, then taking his share of boos before helping the Red Wings win. For Florida, the Barkov timeline makes a major center pursuit look far less pressing, and maybe far less realistic. The speculation had some traction because of the Panthers need, but with Barkov set to come back in a matter of weeks rather than months, the urgency around chasing a headline-grabbing fix has taken a noticeable hit. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Suddenly Have Another Injury Concern Fans Feared
Floridas injury picture got a lot murkier against the Kings when Brad Marchand went down with a lower-body injury and had to be helped off the ice. It came in just his second game back after offseason surgery, a reminder that the Panthers were still easing him into the lineup and hoping to get another veteran presence back into the fold without issue.
The timing made the scene even more uneasy for a team already bracing for captain Aleksander Barkov to miss six-to-eight weeks with a lower-body injury. Marchands status now becomes another important storyline for a club trying to hold things together early in the season while key pieces are already on the shelf. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Suddenly Have A Pavel Zacha Question They Cant Ignore
The Bruins attention may be on Pavel Zachas uncertain contract situation and the trade talk swirling around him, but the ripple effects reach well beyond Boston. Around the league, the market is still moving in the same cautious way, with Patrik Laine remaining unsigned as a free agent and David Perron also searching for a new home, while teams continue to weigh cap space, roster fit and timing. For the Florida Panthers, that broader churn matters because every move around a rival can shift the outlook in the Atlantic and alter how quickly teams try to solve their own lineup questions.
Florida already has enough on its plate with Aleksander Barkov expected to miss 6-8 weeks, and now it is also waiting for more clarity on Brad Marchands lower-body injury. The Panthers have not given a diagnosis or a timeline, leaving one of their most important late-season additions in limbo at a time when their margin for error is already thin. Between the uncertainty in Boston and the questions in Sunrise, the divisions picture is changing by the day, and the next update could carry real weight for the Panthers. [Read more 🡒]