FHN Today: Florida Panthers Off to Canada Minus Their Captain

The Florida Panthers took off from Fort Lauderdale on Sunday afternoon minus one very important part of their team.

Captain Sasha Barkov was not part of the traveling party headed to Edmonton as this illness he has been battling — the team stresses it is not Covid-related — will keep him from playing at least the next two games.

Barkov has already missed two games due to the illness.

After missing the game against Dallas on Nov. 17 but returned two days later to face Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar and the Calgary Flames.

Barkov even traveled to Columbus and was a big reason why the Panthers beat the Bruins on Wednesday night.

Apparently, he woke up on Thursday or Friday feeling renewed affects of the illness and was told to not come to the arena for practice. He also missed Saturday night’s loss to the Blues.

The Panthers hope he starts feeling better and, if he does, Barkov could meet the team as early as Tuesday or Wednesday in Vancouver.

Aleksi Heponiemi was called up on an emergency basis and will play on the third line tonight.

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW

The Panthers certainly miss having Barkov in the lineup as they are 0-1-1 without him this season.

Even last season’s powerhouse squad went 7-5 without him in the lineup.

With Barkov out, the team had to rework three of its four forward lines going into Canada.

— As the Blues were trying to win Saturday’s game in regulation, Aaron Ekblad bumped into Spencer Knight and dislodged his mask.

Game officials let the play go on and Knight was even forced to make a save without his mask.

And it was all allowed under NHL rules.

— New video following Sunday’s practice from Paul Maurice and Nick Cousins is up on the FHN YouTube Channel.

You can also hear from Maurice, Anton Lundell and Radko Gudas following Saturday night’s loss to the Blues.

Check out all of our FHN videos RIGHT HERE or just click on the videos below and enjoy them when you wanna.

NATIONAL HOCKEY NOW

You know who are rooting for the Florida Panthers to miss the playoffs?

The Montreal Canadiens.

Why is that? Because the 2023 first-round draft pick Florida sent them for Ben Chiarot is not protected; if the Panthers do not make the playoffs, Montreal’s compensation would be a lottery pick.

Anyway…

— Is Torts biting his tongue? When talking about the Philadelphia Flyers roster, perhaps.

— The Calgary Flames are finally back home, but are back riding a three-game losing streak after a trip to Carolina.

— The Washington Capitals may be asking themselves ‘what if?’ as they watch their two former goalies thrive in their new homes.

PANTHERS ON DECK

FLORIDA PANTHERS AT EDMONTON OILERS

• When: Monday, 9:30 p.m.
• Where: Rogers Place; Edmonton, Alberta
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida; ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
• Season Series (Oilers lead 1-0): Edmonton 4, Florida (Nov. 12)
• Last season: Split 1-1
  
• All-time regular season series: Edmonton leads 22-14-0, 3 ties