It took almost four games, plus a few overtime periods. Still, the Florida Panthers finally took their first lead of the season on a third-period goal from Matthew Tkachuk, securing a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night. After everything that happened on the road trip, their first regulation win of the season had to be emotional. Beyond the usual trips to the penalty box, which gave the Kings five power-play opportunities, things got serious quickly in the second period when Brad Marchand left with a lower-body injury.
As everyone remembers, devastating injuries derailed the Panthers' chances at a three-peat last season, with Marchand, along with captain Aleksander Barkov, among the many who missed significant time. Last week, Barkov suffered a lower-body injury and will miss 10 to 12 weeks. Even though the calendar reads October 2026, Panthers fans are suddenly facing a severe case of déjà vu.
Tkachuk sends Panthers home with the biggest goal of the season so far
In the heat of battle against the Kings, Florida needed a hero, someone besides Gustav Forsling, who opened the season with an overtime winner over the Carolina Hurricanes. That gave Tkachuk a chance to step up and score arguably the biggest goal of the young season. The 2026-27 campaign may be only four games old, but the Panthers needed to end their West Coast trip with a win after so many setbacks.
After leaving the East Coast and landing in California, the team seemed to skate on the San Andreas Fault, first losing to Barkov in the second game of the year before losing to San Jose in overtime. The Panthers needed to rally from a 3-0 deficit even to get the point in overtime. A couple of nights later, a strong penalty-killing unit got scorched for three power-play goals as Florida lost to the Anaheim Ducks 3-2, again in overtime.
On Tuesday, while driving to the net, Marchand got high-sticked in the face, leading to a four-minute power play, but fell awkwardly into the net and suffered a lower-body injury. Sadly, Marchand missed the first two games of the season after offseason surgery, so losing him again so quickly would be another significant blow to the lineup.
Panthers are better equipped to handle adversity this season
Panthers fans will have another anxious wait for an injury update. First, they are still processing the loss of Barkov for almost the remainder of 2026, and now Marchand looks like he’ll miss some time after being helped off the ice. Hopefully, this isn’t a repeat of last year, when one injury led to another, and before anyone knew it, the team’s best AHLers were NHL regulars. Florida is one of the league's older teams, so simple plays can turn into disasters, but unlike last year, there’s enough depth at the NHL level that it won’t be all doom and gloom.
Of course, no one will ever replace Barkov and all the intangibles he brings to the team night in and night out. Ultimately, the same can be said about Marchand, a hard-nosed player who can score big goals and talk trash. As one of the most underrated 1,000-point players of all time, the Panthers will miss him in the lineup and his ability to drive opponents crazy and then beat them on the scoreboard.
That’s why Tkachuk’s third-period goal is such an important moment for the 2026-27 Panthers. It was a moment when another veteran, multi-time Stanley Cup winner, rose to the occasion and proved he can lead the team through difficult nights. In the standings, the Panthers haven’t lost in regulation yet, coming back to Florida for their home opener against the Minnesota Wild with a 2-0-2 record.
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