Dmitry Kulikov had surgery and is out five months for the Florida Panthers, coach Paul Maurice announced Wednesday.
The defenseman, who turns 35 on Oct. 29, sustained an upper-body injury in Florida’s second game of the season on Oct. 9, a 2-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Panthers are also without center Aleksander Barkov (knee) for 7-9 months and forward Matthew Tkachuk (torn adductor muscle) until at least December. Fourth-line center Tomas Nosek is also out because of what general manager Bill Zito called a “long-term injury.”
Kulikov will be replaced by Uvis Balinskis against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, TNT, TVAS). Defenseman Tobias Bjornfot was recalled from Charlotte of the American Hockey League