Panthers’ Dmitry Kulikov out five months with labral tear

Kulikov appeared to sustain the injury during last Thursday’s 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers when he collided with Bobby Brink in the second period of the game. He was placed on injured reserve the following day, but that was the only other update on the injury until Wednesday’s announcement.

It hasn’t been announced that Kulikov has been placed on long-term injured reserve, but considering the timeline for his return, that’s likely the next move for the Panthers.

Kulikov’s timeline for return currently has him projected to play again in the middle of March, which would give him around 15-20 games of the regular season before the start of the playoffs.

Kulikov only played in the Panthers’ first two games of the season before sustaining the injury, going pointless in both games. He’s coming off of a season that saw him put up four goals and nine assists for 13 points in 70 games in the regular season, as well as two goals and three assists for five points in 23 games on route to the Panthers’ – and Kulikov’s – second-consecutive Stanley Cup win.

With Kulikov out of the lineup, Uvis Balinskis and Tobias Bjornfot are expected to replace the Russian blueliner. Balinskis has played both games that the Panthers have played since Kulikov’s injury to this point, and is expected to play again on Wednesday against the Detroit Red Wings.

Kulikov is yet another major injury that the Panthers will have to overcome, as superstar winger Matthew Tkachuk is out for at least a couple months with an undisclosed injury, Tomas Nosek is out for the long term with a knee injury, and two-way phenom Aleksander Barkov is expected to miss the entire season due to tears to his ACL and MCL.

The Panthers will look to continue to overcome these injuries as they visit the Red Wings in Detroit at 7 p.m. EST. Despite all of the man games they’re already set to lose this season, Florida is first in the Atlantic with a 3-1-0 record.