Sasha Barkov Leaves Florida Panthers Game in Anaheim

Florida Panthers captain Sasha Barkov was assisted off the ice after sustaining what appeared to be an injury to his left knee early in the third period against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night.

Barkov was skating through the neutral zone when Anaheim’s Jackson LaCombe stuck out his leg and struck Barkov.

After originally being charged with a 5-minute penalty, officials reviewed it and charged LaCombe with a 2-minute minor for tripping.

Barkov, meanwhile, was helped to the bench and went directly to the Florida medical room.

The Panthers held a 2-0 lead on the Ducks at the time.

Florida had Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour in its lineup for the first time this season on Friday.

Barkov did not return for the remainder of the game — one the Panthers ended up holding on to win 2-1.

After the game, coach Paul Maurice did not have any sort of update although he was not his usual upbeat self when talking about an injury that is not of great concern.

“We have to get him back and get him looked at,’’ Maurice said, “and we’ll see from there.”

The Panthers will be flying home from Southern California on Saturday morning and are scheduled to arrive in Fort Lauderdale that evening.

An update on Barkov could come following practice on Sunday.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as news becomes available.