Panthers’ Barkov a late scratch vs. Flames due to illness
After suffering their first shutout of the season on Thursday, the defending Stanley Cup champions will have to bounce back without their captain.
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After suffering their first shutout of the season on Thursday, the defending Stanley Cup champions will have to bounce back without their captain.
The Florida Panthers announced that Aleksander Barkov will not be available for Saturday’s game against the Calgary Flames due to an illness.
Barkov has played 22 of the Panthers’ 30 games so far this season, after suffering a lower-body injury at the beginning of the year that kept him out for eight games.
That hasn’t slowed down the 29-year-old, who still has nine goals and 29 points in his 22 games. He captained the Panthers to their first Stanley Cup in 2024-25, where he was nearly operating at a point-per-game pace during the playoffs.
He was named the Selke Trophy winner as the league’s best two-way forward in 2024 — for the second time in his career.
Barkov was selected second overall by the Panthers at the 2018 Draft and was named the 10th captain in franchise history in 2018.
