"It feels great," Barkov said. "I've been waiting for this for a long time. Obviously, the boys are playing really well right now and winning games. It's been fun to watch. I obviously wanted to be a part of that as soon as possible. I worked hard and finally feel good enough to be back."
Prior to his injury, Barkov, the league's reigning Selke Trophy winner, was leading the Panthers in scoring with 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in 15 games. During this morning's skate, he was back in his old spot centering the top line, while also quarterbacking the top power play unit.
With multiple players stepping up, the Cats still won six of eight games without Barkov.
"He's obviously one of the best players in the game," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said. "We're fortunate to get him back, but at the same time a lot of these guys have really stepped their game up, too. Hopefully they can keep their game raised at that level."
In addition to Barkov, Gustav Forsling, who ranks third among Florida's defensemen with 12 assists, is also expected to return to action after missing the last three games with an injury.
During this morning's skate, he was paired on the blue line with Radko Gudas.
"I think we've developed pretty good chemistry and we were playing pretty well together," Gudas said of Forsling. "I'm excited to have him back, but the guys that got called up played pretty well themselves. Obviously, we're excited to get him back, but guys did a good job stepping up."
Becoming just the sixth team in NHL history to win 14 of their first 15 games on home ice, the Panthers closed out their latest homestand with a 4-3 shootout win over the Blues on Saturday.
Helping the Panthers erase three one-goal deficits, Maxim Mamin scored of a pair of goals and Sam Reinhart lit the lamp once during a back-and-forth regulation. Once in the shootout, Anton Lundell and Reinhart both lit the lamp, while Sergei Bobrovsky stood tall to lock down the win.
At 17-4-3, Florida enters tonight's matchup with the second-most points in the NHL.
Leading the Panthers and tied for fifth in the NHL in scoring with 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists), Jonathan Huberdeau enters tonight's tilt fresh off being named the NHL's "First Star of the Week" on Monday after racking up one goal and eight assists in three games last week.
Getting the nod in net, Spencer Knight will start in St. Louis after turning aside all 19 shots he faced during a 7-4 win over the Sabres in a relief appearance in his last outing on Dec. 2. In 11 appearances this season, the 20-year-old rookie has gone 6-3-1 with a .908 save percentage.
"We're deep and we're a competitive group," Brunette said. "Lots of guys have stepped up."
After opening up their season with five straight wins, the Blues have lost 12 of 19 games since then to fall to 12-8-4. In last week's shootout loss against the Panthers, Logan Brown, Jake Walman and Brandon Saad scored, while Ville Husso nearly stole the game with 48 saves.
Cracking the scoresheet in 16 of 24 games this season, Jordan Kyrou paces St. Louis in scoring with 23 points (nine goals 14 assists), while Robert Thomas ranks second with 22 points (two goals, 20 assists), and Vladamir Tarasenko sits third with 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists).
Heading into tonight's matchup missing several regulars, the Blues are expected to take the ice against the Panthers without Jordan Binnington, Justin Faulk and Tyler Bozak, who are all still in COVID protocol. Additionally, David Perron, Klim Kostin, James Neal and Thomas are injured.
Due to cap restrictions, St. Lous is expected to deploy just 17 skaters tonight.
With Binnington still unavailable, there's a good chance that Husso will make this third straight start between the pipes. In six appearances this season, the second-year goaltender has played very well while going 3-2-1 behind a 2.33 goals-against average and .929 save percentage.
"We expect a real hard game," Brunette said. "Whenever you play the St. Louis Blues, it's going to be a tough game. I think space is at a premium out there. They've got big defensemen with really good sticks. They close on you pretty fast. It's going to be a real good test for us."
