The Florida Panthers may get injured captain Aleksander Barkov back a bit quicker than expected. And if nothing else, he’s still on track to play when the Stanley Cup champions go to his native Finland for a pair of games next month.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Aleksander Barkov skated Thursday for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury and could return to the lineup for the Florida Panthers as soon as next week, coach Paul Maurice said.

Aleksander Barkov was on the ice getting some work in before Panthers morning skate ahead of a date with the Canucks on Thursday.

Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice isn't ready to jump to conclusions following one loss on how his defending Stanley Cup champions will hold up with captain Aleksander Barkov expected to miss between two and three weeks with a lower body injury.

Aleksander Barkov will be out 2-3 weeks for the Florida Panthers because of a lower-body injury.

Barkov was hurt with 70 seconds left in a 3-1 loss at Ottawa on Thursday when he was attempting to prevent Tim Stutzle from scoring an empty-net goal.

It seems that the Florida Panthers will be out a couple of key players on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres. Panthers head coach Paul Maurice announced that winger Matthew Tkachuk will miss Saturday’s game due to an illness,