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Panthers Get Update on Injury Timelines for Brad Marchand & Star Players

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Mar 20, 2025 7:00 AM ET

Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice provided injury updates on several key players Wednesday, with Dmitry Kulikov, Brad Marchand, and Matthew Tkachuk all facing different timelines for their return.

Kulikov, who suffered an upper-body injury in Sunday’s game against the New York Islanders, is expected to miss a couple of weeks but should return before the playoffs.

“We’ll list him as week-to-week, upper-body,” Maurice said, per Roy Bellamy. “We expect him to play before the end of the regular season.”

To replace Kulikov, the Panthers recalled defenseman Toby Bjornfot, who will pair with Niko Mikkola on Florida's blue line.

"We expect him to play at the end of the regular season" is what Paul Maurice said about Dmitry Kulikov...........so the injury was pretty damn bad and the Panthers are down another defenseman.
— Roy Bellamy (@roybelly) March 19, 2025

“It’s nice to bring up a guy whom everybody knows,” Maurice said. “When he hops into the room, gets on the plane—this is normal for him.

"His games for us have been very good. He is a guy who falls into the category of when you send him down, you feel bad because he hasn’t done anything on the ice. His play has been solid for us. We have just had depth at that position while he has been here.

"We feel very comfortable with him in our lineup.”

Marchand, who was acquired from Boston in a shocking trade-deadline move on March 7, remains on track with his original timeline after enduring an upper-body injury and could return as early as April 8.

Sam Bennett did not skate Wednesday but Maurice clarified he was given a maintenance day, with the forward expected to play Thursday against Columbus.

Tkachuk, meanwhile, remains out until at least the start of the playoffs due to his long-term injured reserve designation.

Maurice confirmed that unless another player is placed on LTIR, Tkachuk cannot return before the postseason.

“They are all right where they’re supposed to be,” Maurice said. “They’re trending to the original idea.”

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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