BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Florida Panthers captain, Aleksander Barkov, is expected to be sidelined for two to three weeks due to a lower-body injury, as confirmed by head coach Paul Maurice on Saturday.

Maurice expressed optimism that Barkov could be back in time, potentially even sooner, for the Panthers’ upcoming NHL Global Series matches against the Dallas Stars scheduled for November 1-2 in Tampere, Finland, which is Barkov’s hometown.

“It may take that amount of time, but we think he should be within that timeline,” Maurice remarked following the morning skate ahead of the Panthers’ game in Buffalo.

Barkov sustained the injury just 70 seconds before the conclusion of their recent 3-1 defeat against the Ottawa Senators. While trying to stop Tim Stutzle from scoring an empty-net goal, Barkov collided with Stutzle and crashed feet first into the boards.

After the incident, Barkov appeared to be in considerable pain, taking nearly a minute to stand up. He required assistance from teammates Evan Rodrigues and Uvis Balinskis to leave the ice.

In addition, Maurice announced that forward Matthew Tkachuk would not be in the lineup against Buffalo due to illness.

Defenseman Adam Boqvist is anticipated to return after missing a game. Boqvist will be donning protective headgear following a puck strike to the face during the defending Stanley Cup champions’ opening game, which they won 6-4 against the Boston Bruins.