Barkov Leaves Panthers Game Early After Left Knee Injury

Florida Panthers captain Sasha Barkov left Thursday's game against the San Jose Sharks early due to an injury that appeared to affect his left knee. While battling for the puck in the right corner during a power play, Barkov fell awkwardly and immediately limped toward the locker room while tossing his gloves on the floor. He had previously received a four-minute high-sticking penalty from Kieffer Sherwood when taken by the stick at the mouth, followed by being slashed in the hand/wrist area; he missed part of the double-minor penalty while attending to himself on the bench. Florida was trailing 2-0 at the time of Barkov's injury. The team also played without defenseman Gus Forsling, who had scratched late before warmups and replaced by Uvis Balinskis.