SUNRISE, Fla. — In a blink of an eye, the first month of the 2025-26 season has come to a close for the Florida Panthers, who are chasing three straight Stanley Cup championships.

Already down Matthew Tkachuk, Tomas Nosek and Aleksander Barkov, the Panthers closed October with 11 points at 5-5-1, losing another key body in the process.

Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov suffered an upper-body injury on Oct. 9 during a game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The injury was later diagnosed as a labral tear and he underwent surgery, with a recovery time of about five months, according to Panthers head coach Paul Maurice.

Tkachuk and Nosek are expected to return in December, while Barkov’s return is estimated for April or May.

The Panthers’ latest defeat came Tuesday at Amerant Bank Arena, a shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks.

The team was without Brad Marchand (personal) and Jonah Gadjovich (upper-body), with Maurice saying he expects to have Marchand back in the lineup Saturday against the Dallas Stars at Amerant Bank Arena.

After a strong start, Florida fell behind 2-0 until the third period, when the Panthers got goals from Anton Lundell and a late one from Sam Reinhart to tie the game.

“I think they’ll feel like they left some stuff around the net,” Maurice said, with his team now having a three-day break before its next game.

The Panthers will have eight home games and five road games in November, including a four-game West Coast road swing against the Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights.

The Edmonton Oilers, who the Panthers knocked off in back-to-back seasons to claim the Stanley Cup, visit Amerant Bank Arena at 7 p.m. ET Nov. 22.

Panthers finish October with even record while continuing to manage injury woes

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Brandon Liguori