The Florida Panthers injury situation got worse on Tuesday night when Brad Marchand had to be helped off the ice after appearing to sustain an injury to his left knee.

Marchand, playing in just his second game since March, drove the net and got caught by the stick of Los Angeles defenseman Brandt Clarke.

Marchand went down, with his left leg getting caught underneath him as he crashed into the cage.

After a few moments down on the ice as he was being treated by the team’s medical staff, Marchand was helped off the ice by Brady Tkachuk and Niko Mikkola without putting any weight on his left leg.

Clark was hit with a 4-minute double-minor for high sticking in the 1-1 game.

Marchand had been out since the Panthers shut him down with a core injury on March 6; he had surgery in August and returned to the lineup on Sunday night in Anaheim.

The Panthers also lost captain Sasha Barkov to a suspected left knee injury last Thursday night against the San Jose Sharks.

Coach Paul Maurice said Tuesday that Barkov should be back in 6-8 weeks.

Following Tuesday’s 2-1 win over the Kings, Maurice told Jameson Olive of FloridaPanthers.com that there is no update on Marchand’s status.

Marchand, Maurice said, will be looked at by team doctors on Thursday in South Florida.

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George Richards is the publisher of Florida Hockey Now and has been the beat writer covering the NHL Florida … More about George Richards, FHN Publisher