Panthers' bid for third straight title takes another hit after player burns himself in 'barbecuing mishap'

Tomas Nosek, Dmitry Kulikov, and Jonah Gadjovich have all missed time due to injury, and forward Eetu Luostarinen will be joining them after an unforeseeable injury.

The Panthers said Luostarinen suffered burns in a "barbecuing mishap," and there is no timetable for his return.

"I'm going to list him as week to week because we don't have a lot of experience with this and some of this is when he comes back and feels comfortable with the equipment on," head coach Paul Maurice said on Wednesday. "He wasn't in the hospital overnight. He did get seen by doctors in that vein."

Barkov, Kulikov, Gadjovich and Nosek all still have months to go in their recoveries; Tkachuk may start skating by the end of this month and could make his season debut sometime in December.

Forward Cole Schwindt, whom the Panthers claimed off waivers last month to help with their injury problems, is now on the injury list himself. Schwindt will need surgery in the coming days to repair a broken arm, and the Panthers expect that he'll miss two to three months.