Panthers' Barkov and Marchand Back on the Ice, Weeks From Return

Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand are skating again, and the Florida Panthers can see the end of their forward injury problem.

Both players resumed skating Thursday, head coach Paul Maurice told reporters. Marchand is three weeks away from playing games, Maurice said. Barkov is four weeks out.

Barkov was hurt in only his second game this season, a left knee injury that in the end needed no surgery. He had already sat out all of last season because of a right knee injury. The initial estimate of six to eight weeks, set when he left the lineup in early October, still looks to be on track.

Marchand, too, has been sidelined since early October, with a left leg injury.

Florida has managed without them. Through 13 games the Panthers are 7-4-2, which puts them in the top wild-card spot in the East.

"We're no stranger to guys going down the last few years, and guys have done a great job of stepping up," Matthew Tkachuk said after Marchand's injury. "Worst case, you just got to win 1-0, 2-1."