San Jose, CA – On Thursday night against the San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers Captain Aleksander Barkov left the game with a lower body injury. On Saturday he was placed on the Long-Term Injured Reserve.
A little over a year ago, Barkov went down with an injury during practice prior to the 2025-26 season. Results came back with a torn ACL and MCL and he sat out for the entire season.
Excluding preseason games, this is his second NHL game since he hoisted the Stanley Cup on June 17th, 2025. He played a total of 10 games in the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. Team Finland went on to win the gold medal of the tournament.
After the offseason was over Barkov played the first two preseason games for the Panthers, both against the Carolina Hurricanes. He recorded two goals and two assists in those games before starting the regular season yet again against the Canes on Tuesday.
After their win in Raleigh, the Panthers headed west to continue their road trip to California and faced the Sharks. Barkov went down in the 2nd period before heading into the tunnel. He was shoved by Sharks defenseman Darnell Nurse and landed awkwardly on his left knee. He didn’t return for the remainder of the game.
Aleksander Barkov immediately leaves the ice in pain after an awkward fall pic.twitter.com/Anli2nv5LQ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 2, 2026
The injury Barkov sustained was the other leg from the one he injured last year. Barkov was a huge part of this team when the Panthers won back-to-back Stanley cups in 2024 and 2025. This is a big injury scare for the team but it feels like a relief knowing that Barkov did not have a season-ending injury. Placing him on the LTIR will mean he will miss at least 10 games.
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