- Brad Marchand will miss six weeks with a lower-body injury, per Paul Maurice
- He should be back on the ice in three weeks, then needs three more to rehab
- Read below for the injury video and where the Panthers stand with Aleksander Barkov also out
The Panthers got a better answer than they feared on Brad Marchand.
Head coach Paul Maurice said Friday that Marchand will miss six weeks with a lower-body injury. Reporter Jeff McPherson passed along the timeline right after practice:
Maurice explained how the recovery breaks down after practice at Baptist Health IcePlex.
“Three weeks he will be back on the ice, another three to rehab,” Maurice said.
Marchand went down late in the second period of Tuesday’s 2-1 win over the Kings in Los Angeles. He was driving the net when Brandt Clarke caught him with a high stick, and he twisted awkwardly into the post. Clarke got a double minor on the play.
Watch the play that sent Marchand to the room:
Marchand stayed down for a few minutes before Brady Tkachuk and Niko Mikkola helped him off. It was only his second game of the season after offseason surgery, and he tied the Ducks game with a goal on Sunday in his debut. We covered the original Marchand injury Tuesday night.
Maurice was asked about the mood in the room after the scare, and he compared it to what Florida went through last year.
“When they go down and you see that, you’re worried,” Maurice said. “We went through that last year.”
That’s fair. The Panthers lost more than 540 man-games to injury last season, and Marchand and Barkov covered a big chunk of them. Barkov is out 6-8 weeks after an injury in San Jose on Oct. 1, so Florida will play a stretch without both of them.
Marchand is 38 and in year two of a six-year, $31.5 million deal. He scored 27 goals and 54 points in 52 games last season. The Panthers (2-0-2) host the Wild in their home opener Saturday.
