Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov is questionable to return to Game 3 of his team's Eastern Conference Final matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes due to a lower-body injury, the team announced.
Barkov missed the last seven minutes of the first period of Monday's contest after taking a hit from Hurricanes forward Jack Drury. He didn't come out for the start of the second frame.
Aleksander Barkov spent the end of the period in the locker room after this contact at the boards#TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/lQdBWnHT8v
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) May 23, 2023
Eetu Luostarinen took Barkov's place centering Florida's top line, while Ryan Lomberg replaced Luostarinen on the left wing of the third line.
Barkov, 27, entered Monday with four goals and eight assists in 14 postseason contests. The former Selke Trophy winner finished second among Panthers skaters with 78 points in 68 regular-season games.
Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.