Bruins Catch Break With Panthers Captain’s Absence In Rematch

The Panthers faced the injury bug this weekend, and it will benefit the Boston Bruins when Florida heads to TD Garden.

Head coach Paul Maurice announced to reporters Saturday that Aleksander Barkov would miss two to three weeks due to a lower-body injury, per Jameson Olive of NHL.com. That means he’ll miss the Bruins-Panthers rematch Monday.

Barkov suffered a lower-body injury in Florida’s 3-1 loss to Linus Ullmark’s Ottawa Senators. The Panthers captain lost his stick while attempting a pass and made a hustle play to protect his team’s empty net in the final moments of Thursday’s game. Barkov crashed into the boards and early reports said the 29-year-old, who had to be helped off the ice, avoided a fracture.

Maurice also announced Matthew Tkachuk would miss Saturday’s matchup against the Buffalo Sabres due to an illness, per SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman. There was no timeline given on the star forward, but the Bruins would catch an even larger break if Tkachuk can’t suit up Monday.

Florida and Boston faced off in the season-opener, and the Panthers outdueled the B’s in their 6-4 win at Amerant Bank Arena.

Puck drop for the Bruins-Panthers rematch is scheduled at 1 p.m. ET, and you can catch full coverage on NESN after an hour of pregame.