The Panthers are still waiting for Aleksander Barkov to return to games in Finland, if not sooner

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – The Florida Panthers may get injured captain Aleksander Barkov back a little faster than expected. And if nothing else, he’s still ready to play when the Stanley Cup champions head to their native Finland for a pair of games next month.

Barkov skated Thursday for the first time since leaving a game in Ottawa on Oct. 10 with a lower-body injury and, if all goes well, could return to the Panthers’ lineup at some point in their upcoming road trip that includes an Oct. 24 game. at the New York Rangers, an Oct. 26 game at the New York Islanders and an Oct. 28 game at Buffalo.

The key, Panthers coach Paul Maurice said, is for Barkov to get through a week of hard skating without a recurrence of injuries or other setbacks.

“He’s really in tune with his body,” Maurice said Thursday, noting the Panthers are taking a “smart instead of cautious” approach with Barkov’s timeline. “He spends a lot of time on it. He was here for a long time (Wednesday) working on it. He will play as soon as he says he is 100% ready.”

Thursday’s home game against Vancouver was the fourth straight Barkov will miss. He is also expected to be out for Saturday’s home game against Las Vegas and a Tuesday home game against Minnesota.

The injury happened with about a minute left in the Panthers’ 3-1 loss in Ottawa on Oct. 10 when Barkov crashed into the backboards. He was trying to prevent an empty-net goal, chasing down a loose puck that Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle knocked into the net to seal the Senators’ victory.

“Anytime you can see your captain get back out there and push for a comeback it’s obviously a boost in your locker room,” Florida forward Sam Reinhart said.

There was more good news regarding the Panthers’ availability Thursday: Maurice said forward Matthew Tkachuk is recovering well from an undisclosed ailment and remains on track to return for the Oct. 22 game against Minnesota. He has not played since the Ottawa game, the one where Barkov was injured.

Tkachuk is tentatively scheduled to resume skating Friday, Maurice said.

Barkov, 29, winner of the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s top defensive forward, is in his 12th season, all with the Panthers. He was the first Finnish player to captain a Stanley Cup champion when Florida edged Edmonton for the title last season.

The Panthers are scheduled to play two games in Barkov’s homeland on Nov. 1 and 2 when they travel to Tampere, Finland, for a pair of matchups against the Dallas Stars.

Barkov is the Panthers’ career leader in several categories, including goals (266), assists (446), points (712) and game-winning goals (48). Had an assist in Florida’s first two games this season.

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