Matthew Tkachuk has not been on the ice for the Florida Panthers since early February, Aaron Ekblad is not eligible to play again until Game 3 of the first round of the postseason , and Brad Marchand still hasn't debuted with his new team since joining at the trade deadline.
Those are big holes down the stretch, and yet they keep on rolling. The Panthers won nine of their first 14 games since the NHL season resumed after the 4 Nations Face-Off break and remain atop the Atlantic Division with 11 left to play.
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Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov, right, celebrates after his winning overtime goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets with teammate defenseman Seth Jones, left, in an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice, center top, watches his team against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
Florida Panthers left wing Jonah Gadjovich, right, celebrates after his goal with defenseman Nate Schmidt (88) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) acknowledges the crowd after the Panthers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov acknowledges the crowd after being recognized for scoring the game-winning goal in a shootout in an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) celebrates after his goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Seth Jones has fit in perfectly since they acquired him from Chicago, and the defending Stanley Cup champions look primed for another playoff run.
“That’s the way it goes," said Sam Bennett, whose 12 points over this span are tied with captain Aleksander Barkov for second-most on the roster behind Sam Reinhart (13). "You’re going to be down important guys at important times of the year. In the playoffs, especially, there’s going to be times that you lose guys and it’s up to us to step up and every guy’s got to play a little harder, play a little bigger when we have those really important guys out of our lineup.”
Tkachuk, Florida's heart-and-soul top forward, was injured playing for the U.S. at the 4 Nations on Feb. 15. Ekblad, the top-four defenseman in his 11th season in the league, was suspended 20 games on March 10 for performance-enhancing drugs.
And the team knew Marchand would not be available right away after getting hurt March 1 in what turned out to be his final game with the Boston Bruins. Coach Paul Maurice said the 36-year-old was skating hard and could be back as soon as the end of this week, if not early April.
Even without those guys, the Panthers have allowed opponents to score just two goals a game during this stretch — tied for the fewest in the NHL.
“What separates them and why I think they’re the best defending team in the league is they protect the net front and the slot better than anybody in the NHL for my money,” Washington Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said before his team beat Florida on Saturday. “And that’s partly the way that their structure is, so the system, but also the commitment to win your 1-on-1 (matchups) and protect that area is elite, elite, elite.”
Maurice thinks the Panthers have handled the situation really well, absent a clunker of a 3-1 defeat at Montreal. After losing to Washington, the affable coach who has been behind the bench for over 2,000 NHL games deadpanned that despite a sub-.500 road trip, "We won’t fold the season.”
Overall, he has been pleased.
“We’ve been pretty good,” Maurice said. “We’ve played playoff games without Bennett, without Barkov — with 2out a number of players. ... We just have some experience with it.”
Since hiring Maurice and trading for Tkachuk in the summer of 2023, Florida has won seven of eight playoff series while making back-to-back trips to the final and captured the first championship in franchise history. The hope is to do more of that after getting Marchand and Jones, who has been playing big minutes — over 25 a game — in Ekblad's absence.
“He’s been great," forward Jonah Gadjovich said of Jones. "He’s been great on the ice and off the ice. He’s a great guy, obviously a great player, as well, so we’re so happy to have him and his leadership around the locker room.”
Inside the locker room, Gadjovich said being without top players is no excuse, so he and his teammates are not treating it as such.
“Obviously we’re down a lot of guys right now, and I think we’re looking forward to having them back whenever they come back," he said. “Whoever’s in the lineup just has to do their job. We all know how to play. We all know Panther hockey and what’s expected of us.”
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Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov, right, celebrates after his winning overtime goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets with teammate defenseman Seth Jones, left, in an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice, center top, watches his team against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
Florida Panthers left wing Jonah Gadjovich, right, celebrates after his goal with defenseman Nate Schmidt (88) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) acknowledges the crowd after the Panthers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov acknowledges the crowd after being recognized for scoring the game-winning goal in a shootout in an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) celebrates after his goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
POZUELO DE ALARCON, Spain (AP) — An adviser to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was shot to death Wednesday outside the American School of Madrid, where at least one of his children was enrolled, Spanish authorities and witnesses said.
Andrii Portnov, 51, was shot at 9:15 a.m. (0715 GMT) as students were arriving, Spain's Interior Ministry said.
Portnov was a former politician tied closely to Yanukovych, the pro-Moscow president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was ousted in a popular uprising in 2014 after shelving plans to bring the country closer to the European Union and instead deepen ties with President Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Yanukovych's ouster in February 2014 followed a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters, with dozens of people killed, many by police snipers.
Portnov was deputy head of the presidential office in that period and was involved in drafting legislation aimed at punishing participants of the uprising. Ukrainian authorities opened a treason case against him, which was later closed, and he also was the subject of U.S. sanctions involving corruption in Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment on Portnov's killing.
Witnesses said Portnov was shot several times in the head and body by more than one gunman when he was getting into a Mercedes Benz registered to him, police said. The unidentified assailants then fled on foot, and local media reported police helicopters later flew over a nearby park.
Portnov died in the parking lot with at least three shots to his body, Madrid’s emergency services said.
He had one child enrolled at the school, according to a parent and an uncle of students there who spoke with The Associated Press. The school declined to comment.
After fleeing Ukraine in 2014, Portnov reportedly lived in Russia in 2015 before relocating to Austria. It wasn’t immediately clear when he moved to Spain.
In 2018, when pro-Western Petro Poroshenko was president of Ukraine, the country’s Security Service, or SBU, opened an investigation against Portnov on suspicion of state treason, alleging his involvement in Russia’s illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. The criminal case was closed in 2019, three months after Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to power.
The United States imposed personal sanctions on Portnov in 2021, designating him as someone “responsible for or complicit in, or (who) has directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery.”
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, there have been a number of killings of high-profile figures linked to Moscow and Kyiv.
The killings have included Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist; military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky; and several high-ranking Russian military officers. In those instances, Ukraine denied involvement.
One exception was former Ukrainian lawmaker Illia Kyva, who fled to Russia before the invasion and was killed there in 2023. The SBU said in a statement that its chief, Vasyl Maliuk, has said the enemies of Ukraine “will definitely be held accountable for their crimes.”
One killing that prompted speculation of retaliation by Moscow was the shooting death in Spain last year of Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov, who defected to Ukraine in 2023, although there was no independent confirmation of Russia's involvement.
Police cordoned off a crime scene in a parking lot outside the gate of the American School of Madrid, located in the upscale town of Pozuelo de Alarcón, north of Madrid.
Luis Rayo, 19, who lives in a neighboring building, said he was sleeping when he heard gunfire and went to see what happened.
Timur Ayaokur, 17, said he was 20 minutes into his first class when he and his classmates heard of the shooting. School administrators told students that a man had been shot and pronounced dead outside.
“I thought it was a drill,” said Ayaokur, who is in 11th grade. “I was worried because at first I thought it might be a parent of someone I know.”
His mother, Elina Ayaokur, who is originally from Azerbaijan, said she knew the victim through the emigre community but did not know him well.
“I didn’t know there were Ukrainian politicians there,” Ayaokur said, adding that the victim had a son in the fourth grade. “I was in shock. Like how is it possible that this happens here?”
Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain, and Novikov reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed.
Members of the judicial police work near the body of Andrii Portnov, an adviser to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, after Portnov was shot outside a school in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul White)
Members of the judicial police at the scene after Andrii Portnov, an adviser to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych was shot, outside a school in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul White)
Members of the judicial police at the scene after Andrii Portnov, an adviser to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych was shot, outside a school in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul White)
A view of the scene after Andrii Portnov, an adviser to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, was shot, outside a school in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul White)
Members of the judicial police at the scene after Andriy Portnov, an adviser to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych was shot, outside a school in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul White)
A view of the scene after Andriy Portnov, an adviser to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, was shot, outside a school in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul White)
Police officers cordon off the area after an adviser to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych was shot, outside a school in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul White)
Police officers cordon off the area after an adviser to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych was shot, outside a school in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul White)
Members of the judicial police at the scene after an adviser to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych was shot, outside a school in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul White)
Members of the judicial police at the scene after an adviser to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych was shot, outside a school in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul White)
Members of the judicial police work next to the body of an adviser to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, at the scene of a shooting, outside a school in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul White)
