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The Florida Panthers were unable to build on the momentum of their season-opening 6-4 victory over the Boston Bruins, falling 3-1 to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, dropping to 1-1 through two games. But a tense moment late in regulation could rob the Panthers of one of their most valuable players.
Two goals from Senators forward Tim Stutzle along with another from Shane Pinto (game-winner) would do it for Ottawa, while Florida's only goal came courtesy of Gustav Forsling.
So, what are the three top takeaways from Thursday's game in Ottawa for the Panthers?
#1 The health of Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov is in question
Barkov was hurt late in regulation after he and Stutzle fell awkwardly into the boards; Barkov wasn't able to put any weight on his leg and needed assistance to the bench from teammates Uvis Balinskis and Evan Rodrigues.
According to coach Paul Maurice, the Panthers captain is undergoing evaluation.
“He’s going to looked at here tonight, and probably tomorrow as well,’’ Maurice said.
It would be a major absence in the Panthers lineup if Barkov is forced to miss any time to rehabilitate from injury.
#2 The Panthers are already very banged up
Barkov's departure and potential absence would only add to the multiple names on Florida's injury list. Forward Tomas Nosek, who's yet to make his Panthers debut, remains out after slamming into the boards during the pre-season.
Additionally, defenseman Adam Boqvist was absent after taking a puck off the face during Thursday's win over Boston. The Panthers will likely have to call up reinforcements from the American Hockey League affiliate Charlotte Checkers for their next game.
#3 Florida had difficulty scoring after tallying six goals in their opener
Despite lighting the lamp six times against the Bruins earlier in the week, they only managed one puck past goaltender Linus Ullmark, making his Senators debut after being acquired via trade; he finished with 30 saves.
“We had a hard time trying to score our second goal,” forward Anton Lundell said. “He (Ullmark) played pretty good. We tried to challenge him, and today we didn’t get the second goal. I felt like he was good today.”
The Panthers now move on to battle the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Centre on Saturday.
