Panthers coach not worried about Aleksander Barkov’s quiet series, but ‘he can be better’

The open-ice hit on Anton Lundell, the officials decided, was a clean one, but it didn’t matter to Aleksander Barkov in the third period of a frustrating 4-2 to loss to the Boston Bruins on Friday. A rare sight followed: The captain, who won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for his sportsmanship back in 2019, rushed at Charlie McAvoy and tackled him to the ice. A scrum broke out in front of the Panthers’ bench at FLA Live Arena and, at the end of it, Brandon Montour and Tyler Bertuzzi went back to their locker rooms with misconduct penalties, and Barkov headed to the penalty box for roughing the Bruins defenseman.

If there was ever going to be a moment for the usually stoic captain to get fired up, it has to be now. It took until the third period of Game 3, with Florida already down by multiple goals and about to go down 2-1 in its first-round series, for the All-Star center to finally take his second shot of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs and his slow start contributed to the four-goal hole the Panthers found themselves in during the third.

“When you lose a game, you critique your best players,” Paul Maurice said Friday. “We’ve got to play as a team. I’ve got to get the best out of each single guy that’s in the lineup. He can be better.”

The coach tried to tinker, only nothing worked.

In the third period, Florida moved wingers Eetu Luostarinen and Anthony Duclair up to the top line to play with Barkov, and yet the Panthers didn’t score until garbage time, when they were down by four goals in the final six minutes.

Barkov, 27, finished with just three shots and a plus-minus of minus-1, although he did assist on a late goal by forward Sam Reinhart when Florida had its goaltender pulled to create a 6-on-5 advantage.

Where is Barkov? Panthers’ 4-2 home loss to Boston leaves Florida looking for answers | Opinion

One quiet game from a star forward in a best-of-7 series wouldn’t usually be cause for major alarm, but it was ultimately the continuation of a quiet week and postseason career.

In the first three games of the series Barkov had just four shots, two assists and a plus-minus of minus-1 in 58:43, even with three-time All-Star center Patrice Bergeron missing from Boston’s lineup. In 29 career playoff games, Barkov is now averaging just 0.79 points per game — down from 0.95 per game in 664 career regular-season games — with a plus-minus of minus-8.

For them to spring an upset on the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins, the Panthers will almost certainly need more from Barkov, especially while Bergeron is out.

Barkov will get another chance, then, Sunday. Boston will again be missing its captain when it faces Florida at 3:30 p.m. in Sunrise for Game 4. While it’s not technically a must-win game, the Panthers need a victory or they’ll go back to TD Garden on Wednesday with a chance to be eliminated.

Barkov’s struggles have been far from Florida’s lone issue so far in these Stanley Cup playoffs. Across the board, the Panthers’ stars aren’t playing their best. Montour has just two points and had a plus-minus of minus-3 in Game 3, and fellow defenseman Aaron Ekblad has yet to record a point. Forwards Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe — who have played together since the first period of Game 2 and been Florida’s best line — are the only forwards with more than six shots so far in Round 1.

Even Tkachuk, who leads the Panthers with three points so far in this series, failed to record a point Friday on four shots.

“It’ll be a five-man game always and find the right combinations,” Maurice said. “When you’re not generating offense, you’re looking for those kind of players. Coach has got to find the right combination.”

Ekblad practices; Panthers recall defenseman

Ekblad was right back on the ice for practice Saturday at the Florida Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs and is trending in the right direction to be in Florida’s lineup for Game 4 later this weekend.

The star defenseman did not play at all in the third period Friday after a second-period collision with McAvoy. He briefly came back in the second, before returning sitting out the entire third. He was not checked for a concussion, Maurice said.

Ekblad’s status will officially be a game-time decision with the early start Sunday.

“He came back in feeling much better today and then will need another day like that,” Maurice said. “It’s that time of the series. Everybody’s going to have some game-time decisions.”

In the meantime, the Panthers called up defenseman Lucas Carlsson from AHL Charlotte as an insurance policy. The 25-year-old defenseman played in a pair of NHL games in the regular season and had 54 points in 61 games for the Charlotte Checkers in their regular season this year. The Checkers clinched their first-round series Friday, meaning they have a few days off before the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs resume and Carlsson can spend some time in Florida until then.