Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov will miss the next five months as he recovers from surgery to repair a labral tear.
The 34-year-old exited the Panthers’ second game of the season on Oct. 9 after crashing into the boards. The veteran played just 7:47 against the Philadelphia Flyers before the collision.
“He had surgery this morning to repair a labral tear,” coach Paul Maurice said. “He’ll be out five months.”
Kulikov now joins a list consisting of Aleksander Barkov, Tomas Nosek and Matthew Tkachuk of Panthers players dealing with long-term injuries. Kulikov is the first, and hopefully the only, defenseman dealing with a long-term injury. The veteran blueliner skates on the third pairing at 5-on-5, but he is a key figure on the Panthers’ penalty kill.
Replacing him in the previous two games was Uvis Balinskis. The 29-year-old skated in 76 games last season, but it wasn’t always smooth sailing on the third pairing. Through two games, Balinskis and his partner, Jeff Petry, have struggled at 5-on-5.
“He is unique in his role, he’s an excellent penalty killer, physical player in the 5-6, but he can skate and close gaps, so that’s the hole (that needs to be filled). Uvis (Balinskis) played 76 games for us last year, so we’ll put in a veteran player whose played here,” said Maurice.
It’s another key player who needs to be replaced, but the Panthers are sticking to the ‘next man up’ mindset.
“It’s the same concept, you don’t replace these guys that we have out of the lineup, but the weight doesn’t get heavier, you just have fewer guys to lift, right? Everybody shares it,” said the Panthers’ bench boss. “We have full expectation of Uvis playing the game that he’s capable of playing; he doesn’t get any room not to, but that’s a positive for us. We think we’re putting in a guy who’s very capable.”
Tobias Bjornfot was also recalled by the Panthers over the weekend, brought up as additional depth in case another Panthers defenseman suffers an injury. The 24-year-old hasn’t been able to lock down a full-time NHL role just yet, but he’s accumulated well over 100 games of NHL experience (134).
The Panthers are back in action tonight against the Detroit Red Wings for the second of five games on their current road trip.
