Florida Panthers captain Sasha Barkov is headed for another evaluation after leaving Thursday night’s game in San Jose with a left leg injury, and coach Paul Maurice said the team won’t know much more until Friday.
“We’ll have a good idea by tomorrow afternoon,’’ Maurice said.
Barkov got hurt while battling for the puck in the corner with Darnell Nurse and Zach Ostapchuk. His left leg buckled on the play, and when he got off the ice, he pushed open the door and limped down the tunnel to the visitors’ room at SAP Center. He did not return as Florida stormed back from a 3-0 deficit before falling 4-3 in overtime.
Maurice also said the latest issue is not connected to the right knee injury Barkov suffered last September. That setback wiped out his 2025-26 season after his knee buckled in one of his first on-ice drills of training camp.
Barkov eventually had reconstructive surgery on his MCL and ACL, then returned to skating in January and practiced with the Panthers before the season ended. Even without playing last year, he would have been cleared had Florida reached the playoffs. Instead, he led Finland to gold at the IIHF World Championship.
The injury comes just days after Barkov played his first NHL game since Game 6 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final, suiting up Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes. After that game, he said, “It was great, just a little different,’’ Barkov said afterward.
“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.
”I feel good, haven’t had any problems with overthinking or anything like that. Just trying to play my game, trying to do my things. I am playing with really good players, and that helps me a lot.’’
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 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 🡒]
Panthers Showed Fight But One Troubling Sign Overshadowed Everything
The Panthers gave themselves a chance after falling behind by three, climbing all the way back to make a game of it before the night turned in overtime against San Jose. For a team that has spent plenty of time building its identity around resilience, there was at least some encouragement in the pushback, even if the result still came away as a 4-3 loss.
What lingered, though, was the sight of Aleksander Barkov leaving the game after an injury during play, a development that immediately put the focus somewhere far more important than the final score. Florida can absorb a hard loss in October, but anything that threatens its captain carries a very different kind of weight, especially with the Panthers still trying to sort out the impact of a night that mixed fight with concern. [Read more 🡒]