Brad Marchand is still off injured reserve this Friday morning, and the Florida Panthers haven't summoned a single body from Charlotte.
Quiet news. But it says plenty about how Florida views the veteran forward's leg injury, which carries a day-to-day tag heading into Saturday's game.
No IR move and no AHL recall. It's the porch light left on at midnight, the kind you only leave burning when someone's expected through the door soon.
The 38-year-old has dressed for two of Florida's four games this season. He scored once in that span.
That goal matters more than it looks. Florida has produced just eight goals through four games, an average of 2.0 per night that leaves almost no margin.
The Panthers opened 2-0-2 with four straight road games. Their lone regulation win came Tuesday, 2-1 in Los Angeles, and the other three games were all decided beyond regulation.
Saturday finally brings the home opener against Minnesota. The visitors arrive on a two-game skid after a 3-2 loss in Tampa Bay on Thursday.
Barkov's absence makes Florida's Marchand bet even riskier
Aleksander Barkov is expected out until at least Nov. 27 with a lower-body injury. That pulls a $10,000,000 cap hit, the biggest on the roster, out of the lineup for weeks.
Aaron Ekblad is also listed as day-to-day for personal reasons. So the Panthers are already juggling two absences, and Marchand would make three if he can't go Saturday.
This is where the patience gets risky. Holding off on a Charlotte recall with this much uncertainty is a gamble, and this forward group hasn't earned that kind of trust yet.
Sam Reinhart has gone four games without a point and sits at minus-1. Brady Tkachuk is also blank, with a -2 rating.
That's $16,833,714 in combined cap hit producing nothing on the scoresheet. Matthew Tkachuk has carried the load instead, with two goals and a game-winner.
So who picks up the slack if No. 63 can't play? Lars Eller, at 37, has three assists, which tells you how strange this start has been.
Goaltending has covered the gaps. Jacob Markstrom owns a .927 save percentage and a shutout, while Akira Schmid sits at .875 over his three appearances.
Paul Maurice now gets a home crowd and a lineup call to make. And right behind Saturday sits a back-to-back, Monday in Buffalo and Tuesday in Columbus.
If the leg isn't ready, Florida carries a thin lineup into three games in four nights. Bill Zito's patience could look smart by Tuesday, or very expensive.
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Should the Panthers have recalled a forward from Charlotte before Saturday's home opener against Minnesota?
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