Without Barkov, Eller's top line has to win in Anaheim

Nobody replaces Sasha Barkov, so the Panthers aren't going to try. Lars Eller takes the middle of the top line tonight in Anaheim, and that's the whole game for me. If Eller keeps Brady Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart playing in the other team's end, this group survives the next 10 games. If he doesn't, October gets long.

Barkov went on long-term injured reserve Saturday with a lower-body injury from Thursday's 4-3 overtime loss in San Jose. He'll miss at least 10 games and sees the team's doctors Monday. Maurice said it's "not related to his injury last year at all." By our count, the captain played 9:18 on Thursday before he left.

The lineup card: expected, from Saturday's practice. There's no morning skate today.

• Brady Tkachuk – Lars Eller – Sam Reinhart
• Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
• Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sandis Vilmanis
• Bokondji Imama – Sam Lafferty – Garnet Hathaway
• Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
• Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
• Dmitry Kulikov – Radko Gudas

Jacob Markstrom is expected in net after blanking Carolina in the opener. Akira Schmid made 28 saves in his Panthers debut Thursday and backs up.

Forsling is a game-time decision with an upper-body injury, and the call won't come until warmups. Maurice said he "feels pretty good." If he can't go, Uvis Balinskis, who played 12:54 on Thursday, stays in.

Who's out: Barkov is on LTIR. Brad Marchand (lower body) is expected to miss October after surgery in August. Jonah Gadjovich has been on LTIR since neck surgery last November. Lafferty and Alexander Petrovic came up from Charlotte on Saturday. For Anaheim, Troy Terry, Ian Moore and Drew Helleson are on injured reserve.

The Ducks: it's their home opener, and they walk in 1-0. They beat Vegas 4-3 on Friday after leading 4-0 through two, so they know how to start and are still learning how to finish.

Leo Carlsson had a goal and an assist, and Lukas Dostal stopped 27 shots. Expect Dostal again. This is the team that finished third in the Pacific and knocked out Edmonton last spring.

Head-to-head: Anaheim took both games last season, 3-2 in a shootout in Sunrise and 7-3 at Honda Center. Barkov missed both of those too, so nobody gets to use him as the excuse.

Gudas wore the C in Anaheim for three seasons. "I'm happy to be back. Familiar territory," he said. Expect a long ovation, then expect him to hit somebody who used to tie his skates.

The one matchup: Eller against Carlsson. The Ducks matched a five-year, $90 million offer sheet to keep him, and he scored 29 goals last season. Eller can't outscore him tonight. He has to make him defend, win the wall, and get the puck to Reinhart.

That last part matters. By our count, Reinhart has no points through two games despite 22.3 minutes a night. Small sample, but he's the guy who has to fill Barkov's scoring. The penalty kill has carried the load, killing 9 of 10 so far by our count.

Pabs' read: Florida is a road favorite, -135 on the moneyline at DraftKings with the total at 6.5 as of this afternoon. 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. I'll take the cats, 3-2. Reinhart gets on the board, Eller wins his share of draws, and Markstrom steals one late. Dale.

How to watch: 8 p.m. ET from Honda Center on Prime Video. SCRIPPS, KCOP-13 and TVAS also carry it.