Florida Panthers Roundtable
Florida Panthers captain Sasha Barkov returns to practice after missing game with illness
Barkov sat out Florida's win over San Jose on Tuesday and didn't skate during Thursday's practice
During the past week, several Florida Panthers players have been dealing with a flu bug working its way through the locker room.
Some players have been able to fight through it and stay in the lineup.
Others have been seemingly hit harder by the illness.
Panthers captain Sasha Barkov is one of those guys.
Barkov feel victim to the illness earlier this week to the extent where he was held out of Tuesday’s 3-1 win over the San Jose Sharks.
“He had no energy and couldn’t play the other night, but we weren't worried about it being a week or two thing, insofar as you can predict the way those things go,” Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said.
It’s never easy for a player to have to sit out, and Barkov is no different. He watched Florida’s win over San Jose from his home in Boca Raton, anxious to get better and back on the ice.
“You never want to miss games, but sometimes you have to take care of yourself and get better,” Barkov said. “We have a deep team, so it makes things easier.”
The Panthers were off the following day and Barkov didn’t skate on Thursday, but he was back out there with his teammates when they practiced at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday morning.
“I’m good,” he said afterwards. “I was on the ice, so I felt good.”
Barkov appears on track to play on Saturday when Florida hosts the Seattle Kraken.
He was back in his usual spot during Friday’s practice, centering the top line between Evan Rodrigues and Sam Reinhart.
“When he came back in today, he said he felt way better,” Maurice said. “So he's in, and he looked completely normal to me today.”
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