Star forward Aleksander Barkov is set to return to the Florida Panthers lineup against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, head coach Paul Maurice confirmed.
Barkov was hurt when he was hit knee-on-knee by Anaheim’s Jackson LaCombe on Nov. 17 in what became a 2-1 win for the Panthers. LaCombe initially was assessed a five-minute major after the play but the penalty was downgraded to a two-minute minor for tripping after review.
Barkov needed help getting off the ice and immediately went to the locker room area for evaluation. He has not played since, missing two games.
Barkov appeared in 16 of Florida’s first 17 games this season, with six goals and 11 assists for 17 points.
Barkov has had only two instances of missing at least 10 consecutive games in his Panthers career. He missed 10 games with a hand injury in 2015-16, then missed 15 games with a back injury in 2016-17.
Barkov is in his 11th season with the Panthers, tied with Stephen Weiss and Roberto Luongo for the most in team history. The Panthers’ captain is the franchise’s all-time leader in games played (680), goals (249) and points (648), along with second in assists (399, 16 behind Jonathan Huberdeau) and power-play points (189, one behind Huberdeau).
–with files from The Associated Press