The Cats are very quickly running out of their nine lives, with Panthers veteran Brad Marchand suffering a serious-looking knee injury.
Florida’s super-pest had to be helped off the ice during Tuesday night’s game in Los Angeles, leaving the Panthers down two of their core players after captain Aleksander Barkov went down last week.
After taking a high stick from Kings’ Brandt Clarke, Marchand’s left knee appeared to buckle as he was sent crashing into the post, dislodging the net.
As he lay on the ice near the boards, Marchand was seen clutching his knee and needed assistance from teammates Brady Tkachuk and Niko Mikkola to return to the Panthers bench and then head to the locker room for evaluation.
Clarke received a four-minute double-minor penalty on the play — which was the second time that he injured a Panthers player that period.
Clarke earlier had received an interference penalty on a play in which Eetu Luostarinen suffered a stinger and temporarily had to leave the game. Luostarinen was able to return, however.
What are the Panthers saying about Marchand’s injury?
Coach Paul Maurice had little to offer in the way of an update on Marchand’s condition after the game.
“We’ll get him looked at probably Thursday,” Maurice told reporters.
Knowing that NHL coaches and hockey teams tend to stay tight-lipped regarding injuries – especially to star players – it’s unclear what kind of update should be expected in the immediate future.
“Yeah, brutal,” Matthew Tkachuk said. “Haven’t seen him yet, but obviously want to check in on him. And yeah, just (stinks). Unfortunate.”
What does this mean for the Maple Leafs?
After missing the playoffs last season, the Panthers had been picked by many experts to not only return to the post-season, but contend for the Stanley Cup.
Florida has long been a thorn in the Maple Leafs’ side, having eliminated Toronto in two of their past three playoff appearances.
As Atlantic Division rivals, the teams also will be in a tough race to make it to the post-season while competing in what has been called the toughest division in hockey.
But with Barkov, one of the top two-way centres in the game, expected to miss six to eight weeks and Marchand also sidelined, Maurice acknowledged his team’s path just got tougher.
“I mean, we have a little experience with Sasha going down, so it wasn’t quite as shocking the second time it happened,” Maurice said. “We know we have good depth. And there’s a threshold for any team, a number of injuries you just can’t survive, and we passed that early last year.
“So, real good resolve here. The tank is deep right now. We had a big summer off, so we’re strong.”
The first of four regular-season matchups between Maple Leafs and Panthers is set for Dec. 3 at Scotiabank Arena. For now, whether or not Marchand will be on the visitors’ bench is up in the air.