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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Aleksander Barkov skated Thursday for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury and could return to the lineup for the Florida Panthers as soon as next week, coach Paul Maurice said.

Barkov has missed three games since slamming into the end boards skates-first after sliding in an attempt to stop an empty-net goal with 1:10 remaining in a 3-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 10. The center will not play against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, SNP).

“We are being what I would call smart instead of cautious,” Maurice said Thursday.

After the game Thursday, the Panthers host the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday and Minnesota Wild on Tuesday before a three-game road trip against the New York Rangers, New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres from Oct. 24-28.

The Panthers will then play two games against the Dallas Stars as part of the 2024 NHL Global Series Finland in Barkov’s hometown of Tampere, Finland, on Nov. 1-2.

“We’re hopeful that [Barkov returns] sometime on the New York trip,” Maurice said. “It may not be. But we are quite confident that means in Finland. This kind of injury, you need a week of hard skating with no relapse. We’re really happy with where it is.”

Maurice said last week he hoped Barkov could return to the lineup in a week or two.

“He is really in tune with his body, puts a lot of time into it,” Maurice said. “He was here for a long time [Wednesday] getting worked on. He will play as soon as he says he is 100 percent ready.”

The Panthers have also been without forward Matthew Tkachuk, who has missed the past three games because of an illness and will not play against the Canucks, but could return against the Wild on Tuesday.

“It’s good, we had other concerns where he needed to have some tests done and they came back really strong,” Maurice said. “He is going to skate [Friday]. He has another appointment, but we are pretty please where he is. He feels good, which is really positive. He’ll get on the ice, we’ll get two or three really heavy days on him and he should be ready.”

With Barkov and Tkachuk out, the Panthers have had to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen, with defenseman Uvis Balinskis playing on Florida’s fourth line the past three games.

“He was really good, positionally he was right,” Maurice said. “I am not trying to turn him into a forward, but we’re dealing with some things here.”