Maurice said there was considering for Barkov to return to Game 3 after leaving during the first period
The Florida Panthers received quite a scare on Monday night.
Panthers captain Sasha Barkov left Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period and did not return.
The hit came with just over seven minutes to go in the first period, along the boards in the Panthers zone not far from their bench.
Hurricanes forward Jack Drury hit Barkov, not too hard, with a clean body check in which there was no clear or obvious apparent injury.
Barkov skated to the bench, sat down, and soon after slowly walked to the tunnel and headed to the locker room.
After the game, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice was asked if he had any update on Barkov’s injury, to which he offered a quick “no.”
After a pause, he joked that Barkov led to attend his neighbor’s bar mitzva and that he didn’t want to disappoint the kids.
Making light of the situation was an apparent indication that the injury was nothing too severe.
On Tuesday morning, Maurice confirmed as much.
During an interview on the Joe Rose Show on 560 WQAM, Barkov’s injury obviously came up.
The information provided by Maurice will be welcomed news in Pantherland.
Not only is Barkov’s injury not considered anything too serious, but at one time there was consideration about having him return to Game 3.
“There was a point in time we thought he might come back into the game, but it didn’t happen,” Maurice said. “We’re hopeful with this one that it’s not going to be long term. We don’t think it’s anything too sinister.”
That is an excellent prognosis for the Panthers.
Florida leads the Hurricanes 3-0 in the best-of-7 conference final. A win on Wednesday would elevate the Cats to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1996.
Losing their top line center who plays a key role in all elements of the game, whether it be power play, shorthanded, defensive zone coverage or overall leadership, would be a tough pill to swallow at this point of the postseason.
“He’ll come in and get worked on real hard today and worked on real hard tomorrow,” Maurice said. “We’ll have a better idea after we see him today where he’s at, but I would say I’m more on the optimistic side right now.”
Speaking at FLA Live Arena later Tuesday, Maurice provided a bit more insight into the situation.
“Good news, it was as much precautionary as anything," he said. "We had to rule out anything sinister, so we’re very optimistic that he’ll return soon and when he does, he’ll be ready to go. We'll wait until tomorrow to see how he’s feeling to make sure he continues on that path, but we’re optimistic that we would see him in Game 4 and if necessary, see him in Game 5."
Maurice was then asked about his comments earlier in the day that there was consideration for him to return to play Monday night after leaving Game 3 during the first period.
“There’s always a spectrum of what something could be, and at the worst end of it, you’ve got to make sure it’s not that," he said. "Once you rule that out, you feel, 'OK, this is something we understand we can work with, so that was ruled out yesterday.”
As for the idea of trying to get Barkov on the ice for a game in which the team he's been a major part of for a decade has a chance to advance to the Stanley Cup Final, Maurice said emotions wouldn't factor into the decision.
"That wouldn't be part of it," he said. "It’ll be a science-based decision."
Maurice would obviously prefer to have Barkov in the lineup.
A big part of Florida's success to this point of the playoffs has been the team's depth, and the team has been rolling with the same forward lines for most of the postseason.
"You can do different things with your group, it puts your structure back in terms of the lines you’ve been running," Maurice said of Barkov's presence in the lineup. "In terms of running the bench, there’s a lot more known for me on the bench and how you're going to play your players."
The Panthers will be prepared for either situation. Whether Barkov is able to play, or not, will ultimately come down to how his body responds on Wednesday morning.
"The decision will be based on his health and how he feels, and then we'll have another plan set all day tomorrow if he doesn't go," Maurice said.
Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final is set for Wednesday at 8 p.m.