Barkov suffers lower-body injury vs. Canadiens

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov exited Saturday's 4-0 loss against the Montreal Canadiens with a lower-body injury.

The 24-year-old center did not return to the game after getting tangled up with Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber near the midway mark of the second period.

Following the contest, head coach Joel Quenneville said the team doesn't think Barkov's injury is serious and will have more on his status on Sunday, according to FloridaPanthers.com reporter Jameson Olive.

Losing Barkov for an extended period would be a significant loss for a Panthers team in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race. The 6-foot-3 Finn ranks second on the club with 54 points while averaging 19:58 of ice time per game, which leads all Florida forwards.