FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida captain Aleksander Barkov needed surgery Friday to repair the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee, injuries that will likely sideline him for the entire regular season and potentially the playoffs as the Panthers try to win a third consecutive Stanley Cup.

Barkov got hurt Thursday in his first official practice of training camp. He had surgery Friday and the Panthers said the typical timetable for recovery from such a procedure is 7-9 months.

At minimum, that would suggest he won’t be playing before the start of the playoffs. And it ends any chance of him representing his native Finland — as he hoped and planned — in the Milan-Cortina Olympics this coming February.

“He’s such a important person in that locker room,” Pa

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