- Pierre LeBrun’s early word is that Brad Marchand’s injury isn’t season-ending
- Marchand went for an MRI with Panthers doctors on Thursday
- Read below for the injury video, Matthew Tkachuk’s reaction and Florida’s growing injury list
The Panthers might have dodged the worst-case scenario with Brad Marchand.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun said Thursday on Early Trading that the early word on Marchand’s lower-body injury is weeks, not months. The 38-year-old was getting an MRI with Panthers doctors the same day, so nothing is official yet.
LeBrun talked about what he’s hearing on the Panthers winger’s timeline.
“The early word that I’m hearing is that we are talking weeks and not months for Brad Marchand. Which, in itself, is tremendous news,” LeBrun said. “Now whether that is four weeks or longer than that, six weeks, who knows? But until the MRI is done, we won’t know for sure, but my sense is we are not talking about season-ending.”
That’s a huge relief given how it looked Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
Marchand was driving the net late in the second period when Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke caught him in the face with a high stick. He crashed awkwardly near the post, grabbed his left knee and couldn’t put any weight on the leg as teammates helped him off. Clarke got a four-minute double minor.
Here’s the injury video:
It was only his second game of the season. Marchand missed the preseason and Florida’s first two games recovering from offseason sports hernia surgery, then scored in his return Sunday against Anaheim.
Matthew Tkachuk was asked about Marchand after Florida’s 2-1 win over the Kings.
“Yeah, brutal,” Tkachuk said. “Haven’t seen him yet, but obviously want to check in on him.”
Watch the Panthers’ postgame reaction, with Tkachuk at the 4:22 mark:
Florida was already playing without its captain. Paul Maurice said Tuesday that Aleksander Barkov will miss six to eight weeks with a lower-body injury, and that one also came in under the early fears.
Marchand had 27 goals and 54 points in 52 games last season. He has 452 goals and 1,035 points in 1,153 career games between Boston and Florida.
The Panthers host the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, and Marchand won’t be in the lineup.
