Aleksander Barkov week-to-week; no surgery needed

Barkov is week-to-week with a knee issue that will not require surgery to repair. Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Panthers' Aleksander Barkov week-to-week with knee injury; no surgery needed

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Nov 17, 2021 5:02 PM ET

The Florida Panthers have avoided a potential catastrophe regarding the long-term health of center and captain Aleksander Barkov.

As noted by the NHL's website and The Associated Press (h/t ESPN), Barkov went down with what initially appeared to be a potentially serious injury in the second period of Tuesday's 6-1 win over the New York Islanders following a knee-on-knee collision with New York defenseman Scott Mayfield:

Very dangerous play here by #Isles Scott Mayfield as he turns his knee into a knee to knee hit on #TimeToHunt Aleksander Barkov pic.twitter.com/rt07xbuGOH
— Hockey Hound (@HockeyHoundShow) November 17, 2021

However, Panthers coach Andrew Brunette delivered good news Wednesday and said Barkov is week-to-week with a knee issue that will not require surgery to repair.

"It's the best-case scenario," Brunette explained about the setback. "Could have been worse. We'll deal with it as we go."

Brunette added he feels the collision between the players was "very unfortunate" but also that Mayfield "was just trying to finish his check." As is typically the case, Brunette didn't name Barkov's exact "lower-body injury" when speaking with reporters.

It's a brutal blow for the hottest team of the opening month of the 2021-22 NHL season. Per ESPN stats, Barkov leads Florida with nine goals and 17 points tallied across 15 games.

The 11-2-3 Panthers next host the 7-4-3 New Jersey Devils on Thursday.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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