Paul Maurice Provides Crucial Updates on Both Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov

Of course, those two would be Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov. Tkachuk has been out of the lineup since the 12th, when Paul Maurice announced that he was dealing with an illness. Meanwhile, Barkov has been out since he injured himself in a collision with the end boards, attempting to defend an empty net. Luckily, based on today's news, it appears as though both of them are on track to return as expected. For Tkachuk, this means appearing in Tuesday's contest against the Minnesota Wild at home. This is the team's next game after tonight's versus the Golden Knights.

Barkov is still a bit further away from returning. However, it does appear as though he will be back in time for the next NHL global series game when the Panthers go to Finland to play the Dallas Stars on November 1st and 2nd. We do know that he is back on the ice as he skated alone a few days ago.

Today, both Matthew Tkachuk and Tomas Novak have started skating again as well, joining the rest of the guys on ir that were already skating, including Barkov. Any of these players returning would be a boost to the club after they dropped two of their last four games. Tonight, they are currently tied to the Vegas Golden Knights as well and could be headed for just a .500 record with another loss tonight.

The Panthers have just four games before the global series starts, so based on Maurice's comments today, we could see him by October 28th against the Buffalo Sabres by the latest. Furthermore, that would mean just a total of eight missed games for the captain, potentially even fewer that that should he instead return next Friday against the New York Islanders. Either way, his return should spark the team and help them maintain their lead in the Atlantic division.