Barkov returning from 3-game absence; Bennett out until playoffs

The Florida Panthers will have captain Aleksander Barkov back within their ranks Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, head coach Paul Maurice announced, according to team reporter Jameson Olive.

Maurice added that forward Sam Bennett will be sidelined for a second straight game with an upper-body injury and will likely miss the rest of the regular season. However, he should be ready for Game 1 of the playoffs.

Barkov, meanwhile, hasn't played in Florida's last three games due to an upper-body issue.

On top of Barkov and Bennett, the defending Stanley Cup champions were missing Sam Reinhart and Gustav Forsling on Sunday against the Detroit Red Wings. Both players are expected to return from their one-game absences Tuesday, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox.

Key defenseman Dmitry Kulikov has also been out since mid-March with an upper-body injury, and star forward Matthew Tkachuk won't return until the postseason after getting hurt at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

Thanks in part to the injuries, it's been a trying time for the Panthers. They've lost their last five games - all against Atlantic rivals - while being outscored 15-7. The skid has weakened their pursuit of first place in the division:

The Ottawa Senators - currently in the first wild-card spot - are close behind, trailing the Panthers by two points in the same number of games played.

Florida already clinched its playoff spot Saturday, and Maurice is more concerned about his team's health rather than its seeding.

"You always want every advantage that you can possibly get - home ice and all that," the bench boss said Sunday, according to NHL.com's Nicholas J. Cotsonika. "But we've got to heal some of these guys, and we've got to give ourselves a chance to be physically right when it starts."

The Panthers have five games remaining on their regular-season schedule. The puck drops on their clash against Toronto at 7 p.m. ET.