He assisted on Panthers teammate Anton Lundell's power-play goal at 8:33 of the first period, the first goal in a 3-1 win for Finland against Germany, had three shots on goal, won eight of 11 face-offs in 18:01 of ice time.
"I think he looked great," Ludell told the IIHF website. "He was strong, he was fast, he's the 'Barky' I've seen in the past. He's always able to amaze us, and we're all happy to see him back in action again."
Barkov began skating in January but was not able to return to the lineup for Florida, which failed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Panthers (40-38-4) finished seventh in the Atlantic Division.
The injury also caused Barkov to miss the 2026 Winter Olympics, after he had been chosen last June as one of the first six NHL players to represent Team Finland. Barkov, who had two points in three games for Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year, is representing Finland at Worlds for the first time since 2016 when he had nine points (three goals, six assists) in nine games to help them win silver.
Last week, Barkov played for Finland against Switzerland in the Euro Hockey Tour, a tune-up for the World Championships, but the last competitive game he played was on June 17, 2025, when Florida defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 to win its second straight Stanley Cup championship. He had two assists in the game.
During the 2025 playoffs, Barkov was tied for fourth on the team with 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in 23 games, was tied for fifth in blocks with 24, and he led the NHL in face-offs taken (446) and was second in face-off percentage (58.3; minimum 100 draws).
He ranked second on the Panthers with 71 points (20 goals, 51 assists) in 67 games last season. He was also second on the team in power-play points (28), short-handed points (four) and takeaways (34), and led the team in face-offs taken (1,026) and face-off percentage (56.5).
After the season, Barkov was awarded the Selke Trophy, which is given to the best defensive forward in the NHL, for the third time in his career (2023-24, 2020-21).
Selected by Florida with the No. 2 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, Barkov ranks first in Florida's history in goals (286), assists (496), points (782), power-play goals, (84), power-play points (243) and short-handed points (23). He also ranks first in their playoff history in assists (56) and points (81).
Barkov was named captain on Sept. 17, 2018, and less than six years later, when the Panthers won their first championship by defeating the Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 of the 2024 Final, he became the first Finland-born captain in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup.
