A tough road trip ends with another key player sidelined. Mikkola's lower-body injury adds to Panthers' mounting concerns.
The Florida Panthers played their final game of the season that will start outside of the Eastern Standard time zone on Friday night in Calgary.
Playing their fourth road game in six night, the Panthers put up an admirable fight, but ultimately they lost the game and possibly another key player, falling 4-1 to the Flames.
It wasn’t until nearly midway though the game that someone finally tickled the twine.
On what seemed like an innocent zone entry, a wrist shot from the half boards by Joel Farabee found its way through a screen and past Daniil Tarasov, giving Calgary a 1-0 lead with 12:16 left in the second period.
It took a little over two minutes for the Flames to double their advantage.
A nice backhand pass from below the goal line by Adam Klapka found a wide-open Victor Olofsson, and his one-timer sailed past Tarasov to make it 2-0 with 9:50 on the clock.
Florida finally got on the scoreboard early in the third, when A.J. Greer scored for the second consecutive game, sending a wrist shot from the right circle over the glove of Dustin Wolf to cut Calgary’s lead to 2-1.
That would be as close as the Cats would come.
Later in the period, with Florida killing a long Flames power play, Niko Mikkola was trailing as the Panthers entered Calgary’s zone on a shorthanded odd-man rush.
As Mikkola began to quick turn around to defend after Evan Rodrigues lost the puck, Mikkola collided with Calgary’s Ryan Strome and went down, clutching at his left leg/knee area afterward.
He would need help off the ice and did not return to the game.
Afterwards, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice did not seem particularly optimistic about Mikkola's injury.
"We'll get him looked at when we get back (to South Florida)," Maurice said. "He plays and competes so hard for us every night, but he's been incredibly durable for us, but that's clearly the story of our season.
"They need him. We're in a tough one right now, so you need those veteran guys around, playing and leading. He's been a dominant man for us all year with the injuries we've had. He's played great for us so we're going to miss him. He's going to miss some time, I believe."
Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato added a pair of late power play goals to cement the victory for the Flames and send Florida home with a 1-3-0 road trip and tied for the ninth-worst record in the league.
On to the Kraken.
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Photo caption: Mar 20, 2026; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Florida Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola (77) get help off the ice after colliding with Calgary Flames center Ryan Strome (22) during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome. (Sergei Belski-Imagn Images)