Barkov shines, but Florida Panthers regulars lose in preseason

The Florida Panthers lose game two of the preseason to the Carolina Hurricanes in a much more competitive game than Sunday night.

The good news: Aleksander Barkov continues to show he's fully back from injury, and Brady Tkachuk escaped serious injury.

Let's talk about it in the postgame wrapup:

From the very beginning of the matchup Tuesday night, the energy was a bit different from Sunday night, a game that Florida won. There was more of a gritty effort for sure.

Bokondji "Boko" Imama threw down the gloves in the first period in a knockdown fight that brought plenty of entertainment value. And there were 11 penalties between the teams on the night.

Second string backup goalie Akira Schmid -- in for Jacob Markstrom -- looked solid during the duration of the second period along with the entire third period and overtime stopping every shot on goal that he faced. He then allowed both goals in the shootout -- but overall, looked up to his role.

Oh Captain, My Captain

Barkov continues to show why he was sorely missed last season. He finished with two points (one goal and one assist). The goal came only 18 seconds after Carolina scored their goal in the first period -- the sort of play that Barkov has traditionally made to change momentum. Now he will likely sit the next two preseason games; he's shown enough to appear completely ready for the season.

Brady Continues To Impress

After finishing the previous preseason game against Carolina with the elusive Gordie Howe hat trick (a goal, an assist and a fight).

He nearly replicated that same achievement again Tuesday night by scoring the opening goal of the game and assisting on Aleksander Barkov's goal in the first period. However, he did not instigate or partake in a fight in Tuesday night's game.

With a goal and an assist so far tonight, Brady Tkachuk has recorded five points through two preseason games. His brother, Matthew holds the franchise record for most points (109) in his first season with the @FlaPanthers.

Can Brady top this list? #NHLStats https://t.co/IHaD9nsnv3
— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) September 22, 2026

Brady did endure a slight injury scare at the end of the second period where something tightened up on him, according to Paul Maurice. He sat out the entire third period, overtime and shootout but apparently would have returned had this not been an exhibition.

The Florida Panthers next game is in Tampa Bay on Thursday night and things are for sure going to be feisty and brutal as they usually are, and there's a twist... all of the players that played the two preseason games against Carolina will be unavailable to play in the remaining two preseason games. That's due to the new CBA stating that players with at least 100 games of NHL experience are restricted to playing in two exhibitions.

So, we can expect an AHL barn game frenzy for sure. That game will be taking place at 7 PM.

Add us as a preferred source on Google