Florida Panthers captain and top-line center Aleksander Barkov will play in Game 3 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday after missing the end of Game 2 following a late hit away from the puck by Lightning forward Brandon Hagel.

After missing the last two months of the regular season with a lower-body injury, Tkachuk opened the 2025 postseason with a dominant two-goal performance.