Panthers beat Kings 2-1 on Matthew Tkachuk's late goal, but Brad Marchand leaves with leg injury

The Florida Panthers beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 on Tuesday night, Oct. 6, at Crypto.com Arena, with Matthew Tkachuk scoring the winner at 11:20 of the third period. The win was costly: forward Brad Marchand, 38, was helped off the ice late in the second period with a left leg injury after a high stick from Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke. Florida finished its season-opening four-game road trip at 2-0-2.

How did Brad Marchand get hurt?

With 52.6 seconds left in the second period, Clarke's stick caught Marchand in the face as he drove to the net. Marchand twisted, crashed into the right post and his left leg bent back awkwardly, ESPN reported. He stayed down for several minutes while a trainer examined him, then teammates Brady Tkachuk and Niko Mikkola got him off the ice while he kept his weight off the leg. He did not return for the third period. Clarke received a four-minute double minor.

Coach Paul Maurice had no update after the game and said the team would probably have Marchand examined on Thursday. NHL.com noted it was only Marchand's second game of the season after he recovered from offseason surgery for an unspecified injury. In his debut on Sunday he scored the tying goal with 1:50 left in regulation of a 3-2 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks.

A second injury on the same trip

Marchand's injury came on the same day the Panthers announced that captain Aleksander Barkov will miss six to eight weeks with a lower-body injury. Barkov got hurt in a 4-3 overtime loss at San Jose on Oct. 1, and Maurice said he will not need surgery. Maurice said the team had learned from last season's injuries and that the roster is deep this year. Defenseman Seth Jones told NHL.com the team would not adopt a victim mentality.

How the game was decided

Los Angeles was outplayed for most of the first period but led at the intermission. Florida tied it after killing a long Kings power play that included 1:21 of five-on-three time, created by a Dmitry Kulikov double minor for high-sticking. Neither team scored on the power play: Florida went 0-for-6 and Los Angeles 0-for-5.

On the winning goal, Sam Bennett passed back to Tkachuk, who was trailing the play, and Tkachuk beat Kuemper with a wrist shot from the left circle. It ended a run of three straight Florida games decided in overtime. Tkachuk has two goals and an assist during a three-game point streak, and Bennett has an assist in three straight games. Florida goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped 19 of 20 shots; Darcy Kuemper made 26 saves at the other end.

Tkachuk told reporters that if someone had offered him six of eight points at the start of the trip, he would have taken it.

What's next for Florida and Los Angeles?

The Kings lost their home opener and are 0-2-1. Defenseman Drew Doughty said the team was still confident in what it is building. Los Angeles visits the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, Oct. 10. The Panthers return to Florida to host the Minnesota Wild the same day, with an update on Marchand expected after Thursday's examination.