Florida Panthers brace for prognosis on Sasha Barkov’s knee injury

This was the overriding question surrounding the Florida Panthers’ chances of returning to championship form.

Can they stay healthy?

Two games into the season, that has shifted to an immediate concern: How badly is Sasha Barkov hurt?

The Panthers captain and star center exited with an apparent injury to his left knee in the second period of Thursday night’s 4-3 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks.

The diagnosis that could shape the team’s fortunes this season is expected today.

“We’ll have a good idea by [Friday] afternoon,” coach Paul Maurice said following the game, adding, “It’s not related to his injury last year at all.”

Barkov went down awkwardly after his left knee appeared to buckle while battling for the puck in the corner with Sharks Darnell Nurse and Zack Ostapchuk.

Barkov walked down the tunnel after this play: pic.twitter.com/J9iA1Oo1JD
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 2, 2026

He immediately left the ice and threw down his gloves in frustration on his way to the dressing room.

The scene was reminiscent of last year when Barkov severely injured his right knee during the first practice of training camp and missed the entire 2025-26 season. He had surgery to repair ACL and MCL tears.

Injuries sank Panthers last season

That injury began an avalanche of injuries that led to the Panthers missing the playoffs after three consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final and back-to-back championships.

The healthy return of the three-time Selke Award winner is the main reason the Panthers were the preseason favorite in recent polls of players, coaches and team executives, in addition to offseason acquisitions including Brady Tkachuk.

Injuries are unavoidable in the rough-and-tumble NHL. What happened to the Panthers last season was extreme. They lost 541 man-games to injuries, by far the most in the league.

Was it an anomaly or a pitfall of one of the oldest rosters?

Already injuries are a factor. On Thursday, the Panthers were without top defenseman Gustav Forsling, who was scratched after warmups.

Forsling listed day to day with upper-body injury

The Panthers reported it as an upper-body injury, but indicated Forsling could return as soon as Sunday at Anaheim.

Forsling scored with five seconds remaining in overtime Tuesday in the season opener at Carolina.

Barkov was hurt during a power play after he drew a double-minor penalty for high-sticking on Kieffer Sherwood for a stick to the mouth.

The Panthers showed resiliency at San Jose in earning a hard-fought point. They trailed 2-0 when Barkov left and the deficit reached 3-0 before the turnaround, including two goals by Eetu Luostarinen.

But a long-term absence of the captain would greatly alter the dynamic of the team and their ambitions.

The Panthers did get encouraging news this week on veteran forward Brad Marchand’s rehab from surgery.

Maurice said Marchand is “probably further ahead than we thought,” indicating he might be ready closer to the end of October rather than early November, pending no setbacks. Marchand is with the team on the road trip and has been skating in practice.

The pressing concern is for Barkov.

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