Panthers place Aleksander Barkov on long-term injured reserve with injury to left leg

Florida center Aleksander Barkov has been placed on long-term injured reserve by the Panthers, meaning the injury to his left leg will keep him sidelined for at least the next 10 games and quite possibly beyond.

The Panthers have not revealed any details of Barkov's injury, which indicates that the evaluation process is still ongoing.

Barkov was hurt midway through the second period of Florida's 4-3 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night. He was jostling for the puck along the boards, got pushed by the Sharks' Darnell Nurse and awkwardly fell to the ice with his left leg at an unnatural angle. It appeared his knee buckled on the play.

Barkov remained down for a few moments, then got up and headed toward the tunnel leading to the Florida dressing room. He walked with a bit of a limp and appeared to angrily try to throw off his gloves as he moved toward the room.

Barkov — Florida's captain and a huge part of the Panthers' runs to Stanley Cup championships in 2024 and 2025 — missed the entire 2025-26 season with torn ligaments in his right knee. He went scoreless in his first two appearance of this season for Florida, which plays Sunday at Anaheim.

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FILE - Florida Panthers' Aleksander Barkov, front, gestures while speaking during an NHL hockey rally and parade to celebrate the NHL hockey team winning the Stanley Cup, Sunday, June 30, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)

Florida Panthers' Aleksander Barkov (16) battles for the puck between Carolina Hurricanes' Jordan Staal, left, and Nikolaj Ehlers (27) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) — An air ambulance vanished over the Atlantic early Saturday with six people aboard while flying from Bermuda to Boston, triggering a search by air and sea in the waters off Nantucket.

Air traffic control audio posted by LiveATC.net offered a fragmentary and troubling glimpse of the flight’s final communications. “Roger, you said you’re coming in blind. Is that what you said?” a controller can be heard asking the pilot. The pilot’s transmission could not be heard well in the recording. The controller later confirmed the pilot was declaring an emergency just before losing contact with the plane.

The Canadian-registered air ambulance jet had four crew members and two passengers aboard when it departed Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport overnight for the flight to Massachusetts, according to a statement from the Bermuda airport's operator, Skyport.

Four of the six people on board the flight that went missing early Saturday were Canadian nationals, the country’s Minister of Transport Steven MacKinnon said on X. Transport Canada is closely monitoring and working with authorities on search and rescue efforts, he said.

The Coast Guard said the Federal Aviation Administration reported that the Gulfstream G100 had lost contact very early Saturday morning. The search for the jet included crews in the air and on the water, the Coast Guard said.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was gathering information about the situation Saturday morning but had no further update to share.

FILE - A U.S. Coast Guard cutter is seen in New York on May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)