FORT LAUDERDALE – A few more returns appear to be on the horizon.
With the Florida Panthers getting back to practice on Saturday following their break for the Winter Olympics, defenseman Dmitry Kulikov and forward Tomas Nosek both hit the ice with the main group.
Nosek has yet to suit up in a game this season following offseason surgery to repair a lower-body injury, while Kulikov was knocked out of the lineup by an upper-body injury during the second game of the season on Oct. 9.
Both players practiced in yellow no-contact jerseys.
“It’s good to see them progressing in their rehab,” teammate Evan Rodrigues said following practice at Baptist Health IcePlex. “It’s getting two big parts of our team back. Hopefully we’ll see them in some game action in the near future.”
That return could be sooner rather than later.
When asked about timelines, head coach Paul Maurice said that Kulikov and Nosek -- as well as forward Jonah Gadjovich, who’s been out since Oct. 25 with an upper body injury -- could possibly return during Florida’s first road trip coming out of the break, which starts on March 1.
“They’ll go probably non-contact this week and then maybe get released for contact in and around the Toronto game (at home on Feb. 26), which would keep them out of those games,” Maurice said. “But if they can get through the week, then somewhere on the road trip there will be a chance they’ll come back. I just don’t know the answer to a lot of them. They’ve been off for an awfully long time. We do need to get them into to a certain level of confidence before [they return].”
An integral piece on the penalty kill, Kulikov has notched 247 points (50G, 197A) in 1,020 career NHL games, while Nosek, a faceoff specialist, appeared in 59 regular-season games for the Panthers last season, and then played 16 more during the team's playoff run to a second straight Stanley Cup.
Prior to his injury this season, Gadjovich had dished out three assists in 10 games.
In addition to those three players, there was more encouraging news.
After not playing in the final game before the break against the Tampa Bay Lightning, defenseman Aaron Ekbald and forwards Brad Marchad (barring anything happening in Sunday’s gold medal game against the United States) and Rodrigues are all expected to be ready to play coming out of the break.
Tobias Bjornfot and goaltender Daniil Taraosv are also good to go.
Owning an 8-8-2 record with a 2.83 goals-against average and .899 save percentage, Tarasov left the pre-break game against the Lightning in the third period with a lower-body injury.
“Tarry’s fine,” Maurice said. “He got tested a few days earlier. He went pretty hard.”
In terms of players whose returns are further away based on Maurice’s most-recent updates, captain Aleksander Barkov and Seth Jones skated prior to Saturday’s practice.
Barkov, who underwent surgery to repair ACL and MCL injuries in his right knee in September has yet to play this season, while Jones, who was having a stellar season on the blue line, sustained an upper-body injury during the 2026 Winter Classic on Jan. 2.
Facing an eight-point deficit in the hunt for a playoff spot with 25 games left to play, the Panthers will return from the break with a back-to-back battle against divisional foes.
After facing the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, they’ll return to Amerant Bank Arena less than 24 hours later to host the Buffalo Sabres on Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
“You’ve got to be ready,” forward Luke Kunin said.
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