Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov is playing in Game 3, less than 48 hours after he was forced out of Thursday's game by a hard hit.

Florida captain Aleksander Barkov missed the final 10:09 of the Panthers’ win in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series at Tampa Bay on Thursday night, after taking a hit from the Lightning’s Brandon Hagel.

Florida Panthers captain and top-line center Aleksander Barkov will play in Game 3 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday after missing the end of Game 2 following a late hit away from the puck by Lightning forward Brandon Hagel.