Dans les coulisses just reported that Brad Marchand will be out another five or six weeks, with the Florida Panthers set to visit Washington on Saturday.
The veteran winger has played only 2 games this season, scoring once. He's listed on injured reserve with a knee injury, and the latest injury report has him out until at least Nov. 21.
Dans les coulisses pointed out that the timeline now stretches well beyond that.
Aleksander Barkov is in the same boat. The captain has also dressed for just 2 games and is listed out until at least Nov. 27, so two of the biggest names up front remain on the shelf.
Somehow, the Panthers have kept winning. They're 9-5-2 for 20 points, and they beat Chicago 5-3 on Wednesday night. They're 7-3-0 over their last 10.
That leaves Florida 11th in the NHL and fifth in the Atlantic Division. The road record is 5-3-2, which is solid but not dominant.
Washington is 8-6-0 and has lost two straight, including a 6-5 decision against Dallas on Tuesday. The Capitals are 6-4-0 at home, so this isn't a gimme.
Who carries the Panthers without Marchand and Barkov
Matthew Tkachuk, for one. He leads the team with 22 points, and 18 of them are assists. As Matthew Tkachuk's lead in the Panthers' scoring showed earlier this week, he's driving the offense.
Seth Jones sits at 19 points from the blue line, and Brady Tkachuk has 17 points with 8 goals. Brady's early pace was already a storyline when Brady Tkachuk's eight goals through 13 games became the talk of the Panthers' locker room.
Then there's Sam Reinhart, who has 16 points, 9 goals and 6 of them on the power play. He's also 4 points shy of 700 for his career, sitting at 696.
Here's the problem. Three players are carrying a lineup built for much more depth, and the margin for error shrinks with every extra week Marchand misses. Paul Maurice can't count on that group staying this productive forever.
Barkov's current timeline runs through late November, and Marchand's now looks to go past it.
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