Paul Maurice reveals when Brad Marchand will likely return to Panthers lineup

Florida just took a real hit up front.

Brad Marchand will miss six weeks with the left leg injury he suffered Tuesday in Los Angeles, and head coach Paul Maurice says the veteran should be skating again in about three.

The 38-year-old went down in the second period of Florida's 2-1 win over the Kings.

He stayed on the ice for a few minutes before Brady Tkachuk and Niko Mikkola helped him off, and he never came back for the third.

This was only his second game of the season.

Marchand missed the first two while recovering from offseason surgery, then made his debut Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks and scored the tying goal with under two minutes left in a 3-2 overtime loss.

It was a short stay back in the lineup for a player Florida clearly missed.

Marchand isn't the only key forward on the shelf.

Captain Aleksander Barkov is expected to miss six to eight weeks with a lower-body injury, and he won't need surgery.

Losing both on the same four-game West Coast trip is a lot for any lineup to absorb.

The three week skating timeline is an encouraging sign, but six weeks is a long stretch this early in the year.

Florida will need its remaining forwards to carry more of the load until both players are healthy again.

For now, the focus shifts to keeping the group afloat in the standings while the injury list sorts itself out.

Marchand's recovery will be worth tracking once he's cleared for contact, since that is the next big checkpoint.

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