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The reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers could have stars Aleksander Barkov (lower-body injury) and Matthew Tkachuk (illness) back in the lineup next week.

Barkov, 29, was expected to miss two to three weeks after being injured on Oct. 10, but he skated for the first time since the injury on Thursday and again on Saturday. He has missed the last four games.

“We are being what I would call smart instead of cautious,” Maurice said Thursday.

Barkov, who won the Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward last season for the second time, was injured while attempting to prevent an empty-net goal in the waning moments of Florida’s 3-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators. The forward crashed feet-first into the end boards.

After home games against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday and the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, the Panthers hit the road for three games in New York: Oct. 24 at the New York Rangers, Oct. 26 at the New York Islanders and Oct. 28 at the Buffalo Sabres.

“We’re hopeful that (Barkov returns) sometime on the New York trip,” Maurice said. “It may not be, but we are quite confident that means in Finland. This kind of injury, you need a week of hard skating with no relapse. We’re really happy with where it is.”

After the New York road trip, the Panthers travel to Barkov’s hometown of Tampere, Finland, to face the Dallas Stars as part of the 2024 NHL Global Series Finland on Nov. 1-2.

Barkov has one point — an assist — in two games this season. He is the franchise leader in several categories, including goals (266), assists (446), points (712) and game-winning goals (48). He was selected by the Panthers with the second overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft.

Tkachuk, 26, has also missed the last four games due to an illness, but skated Saturday and could suit up Tuesday when the Wild come to Sunrise.

“It’s good, we had other concerns where he needed to have some tests done and they came back really strong,” Maurice said. “He has another appointment, but we are pretty pleased where he is. He feels good, which is really positive. He’ll get on the ice, we’ll get two or three really heavy days on him and he should be ready.”

Tkachuk has recorded two assists in two games this season. The two-time All-Star and 2024 Stanley Cup winner has 581 points (218 goals, 363 assists) in 592 games with the Calgary Flames (2016-22) and Panthers.

–Field Level Media