‘He’s a character guy’: Kulikov not held back by broken nose

PITTSBURGH – “I ain’t got time to bleed.”

If you’re a fan of 80s action movies, that famous line uttered by Jesse Ventura in Predator is likely a favorite.

Showing similar toughness, Dmitry Kulikov basically said “I ain’t got time to breathe” on Sunday.

Taking the ice in a face shield in Pittsburgh, the Florida Panthers defenseman had suffered “pretty significant” damage to his nose just two games earlier.

"He felt there was absolutely no reason he should be out of the lineup, other than that he couldn't breathe," head coach Paul Maurice said with a smile when asked about Kulikov’s status the day before his return to action. “Other than that, he was fine."

Not held back by his broken nose, Kulikov blocked two shots and notched one hit over 21:59 of ice time against the Penguins.

Helping the Panthers go 5-for-6 on the penalty kill, 7:09 of those minutes were shorthanded.

“He’s a character guy,” teammate Carter Verhaeghe said. “We’re obviously out of the playoffs, but he battled through it.”

Despite the Penguins earning a 5-3 win, a breakaway for Kulikov gave the Panthers a moment of levity in the loss.

“The most excitement we’ve had here in about two weeks was his breakaway,” Maurice said. “Everyone was up and cheering.”

Missing much of the season after sustaining an upper-body injury on Oct. 9, it’s no surprise Kulikov is itching to play.

The most-tenured member of Florida’s blue line, the 35-year-old veteran has appeared in 1,036 career games, logging 247 points (50G, 197A).

And with young blueliners getting opportunities to play down the stretch due to injuries, Kulikov sets a great example for the group.

“It just shows that guys want to be here, guys want to play no matter what the circumstances are,” rookie defenseman Mike Benning said.

Even after back-to-back Stanley Cups, Kulikov and the Panthers don’t take anything for granted.

“That’s not an easy thing to do what he did,” Maurice said. “I thought he played real well.”

With three games left on their final road trip of the season, the Panthers will face the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.