The Florida Panthers are ready to defend their championship and go for the three-peat, but they will be without two of their key players to start the season. Aleksander Barkov may not see the ice this season after having surgery a few weeks ago to repair the ACL and MCL in his right knee. As for Matthew Tkachuk , he's expected to be out until December with a lower-body injury.

In this situation, some people would panic since they don't have their best players, but not head coach Paul Maurice . Instead, he thinks that this may bring more clarity to the group as they go through the regular season, according to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic.

“I would be more concerned (about the mental exhaustion) if Barkov and Tkachuk were in the lineup,” Maurice said. “Because you’re pretty sur

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