Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk nearing return for Panthers

FORT LAUDERDALE — Florida Panthers captain Sasha Barkov skated Thursday for the first time since getting hurt a week ago in Ottawa. Matthew Tkachuk could join him on the ice tomorrow.

The Panthers have been without two of their biggest stars for the past three games and will be again tonight when they play host to the Vancouver Canucks at 7 p.m.

But both could be back as soon as next week.

Florida coach Paul Maurice said that Barkov could return to the lineup when the Panthers embark on their three-game New York (Rangers, Islanders, Sabres) roadtrip which precedes their flight to Barkov’s hometown of Tampere, Finland, for the NHL Global Series against the Dallas Stars.

“We are being what I would call smart instead of cautious,” Maurice said Thursday.

“He is really in tune with his body, puts a lot of time into it. He was here for a long time [Wednesday] getting worked on. He will play as soon as he says he is 100 percent ready. …

“We’re hopeful that [Barkov returns] sometime on the New York trip. It may not be. But we are quite confident that means in Finland. This kind of injury, you need a week of hard skating with no relapse. We’re really happy with where it is.’’

Tkachuk, who has been out with an undisclosed illness, should skate on the team’s off day tomorrow — and is still on track to return to the lineup Tuesday against Minnesota.

“It’s good, we had other concerns where he needed to have some tests done and they came back really strong,” Maurice said.

“He is going to skate [Friday]. He has another appointment but we are pretty please where he is. He feels good, which is really positive. He’ll get on the ice, we’ll get two or three really heavy days on him and he should be ready.”

— Maurice said that Sergei Bobrovsky will start in goal tonight against the Cancucks; Kevin Lankinen is expected to start for Vancouver.