The Florida Panthers salvaged a point in San Jose, but it took a full-blown rally to get there.
Down three goals, and already dealing with the loss of captain Aleksander Barkov, Florida battled all the way back before falling 4-3 in overtime to the Sharks. Rookie defenseman Luca Cagnoni ended it with his first NHL goal, giving San Jose the win in its season-opener.
The night started with a familiar face hurting Florida. Former Panther Mason Marchment opened the scoring with 5:40 left in the first period, beating Akira Schmid unassisted with a wrister through traffic.
San Jose then stretched the lead early in the second when Macklin Celebrini stripped Matthew Tkachuk and sprung Will Smith on a shorthanded 2-on-1. Celebrini fed Smith, and Smith buried a hard wrist shot from the right circle past Schmid’s blocker.
Florida’s situation got far worse at 8:07 of the second when Barkov went down awkwardly while battling for the puck with Darnell Nurse and Zack Ostapchuk. He immediately left the ice, throwing his gloves to the ground in frustration. The injury cast a heavy shadow over the rest of the night.
The Sharks added to the damage on the power play at 10:37. After Schmid denied Celebrini’s wrap-around try, Smith jumped on the loose play at the crease and stuffed it in. Cagnoni picked up the secondary assist on Smith’s second goal of the game.
That was the hole Florida had to climb out of, and Eetu Luostarinen started the push late in the period. He cleaned up a rebound on the backhand after Lars Eller tipped Aaron Ekblad’s shot down into Yaroslav Askarov’s pads. It was Florida’s first power-play goal of the new campaign.
Luostarinen struck again 5:01 into the third, trimming the deficit to one. Anton Lundell moved the puck back to Dmitry Kulikov, whose shot hit Luostarinen in the high slot and then deflected off Cagnoni on the way past Askarov.
Seventeen seconds later, Matthew Tkachuk tied it. Sam Bennett won the puck along the left boards, slipped a good pass to Tkachuk, and Tkachuk waited just long enough before sliding it between Nolan Allan’s legs and past a screened Askarov.
Overtime belonged to San Jose. The Sharks controlled the extra session and finished it on their sixth shot. Smith gathered an errant Celebrini pass at center, carried it back into the zone, and found Cagnoni open for the finish along the ice past the moving Schmid.
For Florida, there was still plenty to take from the comeback. The Panthers were without late scratch Gustav Forsling, lost Barkov, and still managed to claw back against a Sharks team powered by three-point nights from both Smith and Celebrini.
They also finally cashed in on the power play after going 0-for-7 in Raleigh, though they missed on five other chances with the man advantage and gave up a short-handed goal. That’s a problem they can’t afford on the road.
Eetu Luostarinen had a big night in the middle of the comeback, scoring twice, including the rare power-play goal, the sixth of his career. He played 16:28 and finished with three shots and a block.
Schmid made his regular season debut with Florida and stopped 28 of 32 shots.
Brady Tkachuk is still waiting for his first point with his new team, but he led the club with four shots and tied Boko Imama for the team lead with five hits.
Uvis Balinkis stepped in for Gustav Forsling and made his presence felt. Balinskis dropped Collin Graf to win their second-period fight and added three hits, a shot and a block.
Veteran center Lars Eller earned his first point as a Panther with the primary assist on Luostarinen’s power-play goal.
In Other News...
Panthers Face A Brutal Barkov Question After Early Season Scare
Aleksander Barkovs latest scare came during Floridas game against the San Jose Sharks, when the Panthers captain was forced to leave the ice after an apparent injury. For a player who already spent all of last season sidelined by right knee problems, the sight of Barkov exiting early was hard to ignore, especially after he had just worked his way back into action and even represented Finland at the 2026 IIHF World Championship.
Barkov is the kind of center around whom everything in Florida still turns. Drafted second overall in 2013, he has been a pillar of the franchise through its rise to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, and any interruption to his season carries immediate weight for a team built to contend. The Panthers now have to wait and see how serious this latest issue is, with the bigger question hanging over a player whose value goes well beyond the box score. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Suddenly Face A Barkov Concern They Feared Most
Floridas captain was forced out of Thursdays game against the San Jose Sharks after suffering a left leg injury, a troubling moment for a player the Panthers had only just welcomed back into the NHL lineup after a long recovery from reconstructive surgery. Sasha Barkov did not return, leaving the reigning champions to absorb another hit to the center of their identity at a time when his presence means so much on and off the ice.
Coach Paul Maurice said Barkov will be evaluated on Friday, and the club should have a clearer read on the situation by Friday afternoon. The encouraging part for Florida is that the injury is not tied to Barkovs previous right knee issue, but any setback involving the captain will be watched closely after he spent the prior season sidelined and then helped Finland to a gold medal at the IIHF World Championship. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Have A Bigger Worry Than Another Frustrating OT Loss
The Panthers had already given themselves plenty to digest after a 4-3 overtime loss to the Sharks, erasing a three-goal deficit and forcing San Jose to work for every bit of its win. Floridas third-period surge was the kind of response that usually leaves a team feeling better about the night, even if the points did not follow, and it briefly shifted attention away from what had been a rough start.
Sasha Barkovs exit in the second period changed the tone fast, though, because the captain was gone before Florida finished its comeback. Any injury concern around Barkov carries extra weight for the Panthers, who know how much their center drives the group when he is on the ice, and the sight of him leaving left a much bigger question hanging over the result than another frustrating overtime loss. [Read more 🡒]