Welcome back, Dmitry Kulikov.
After being sidelined most of the season due to injury, the veteran defenseman is back in the Florida Panthers lineup on Sunday against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena.
His return has been confirmed by the NHL’s roster report for the game.
Kulikov sustained a labral tear in his right shoulder on Oct. 9, two games into the Panthers’ season, that required surgery. The defenseman, in his 17th NHL season, has been a critical player on Florida’s blue line during both of the team’s Stanley Cup runs the past two seasons.
His return comes at an opportune time, with the Panthers clinging to fading hopes of reaching the Stanley Cup playoffs to try to win a third consecutive title and with injuries still hampering the team.
Florida remains without Seth Jones, who has been out since breaking his collarbone blocking a shot on Jan. 2. Uvis Balinskis, who has moved up the lineup in Jones’ absence, is also out for the time being after sustaining a lower-body injury on Friday.
With that, Kulikov is projected to play on the Panthers’ second defense pairing with Niko Mikkola on Sunday against the Islanders. The two have played a considerable amount of time together over the past two seasons, so chemistry shouldn’t be an issue as Kulikov returns to action.
Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad remain Florida’s top pair, while Donovan Sebrango and Jeff Petry are the third pair on Sunday.
Kulikov has played in 1,020 career regular-season games, posting 247 career points (50 goals, 197 assists). In his second stint with Florida, which started with the 2023-24 season, he has posted 33 points (five goals, 28 assists) with a plus-minus rating of plus-26 in 148 games. He also has seven points in 47 Stanley Cup playoff games in that span, while averaging 15:14 of ice time per game.