Panthers Lose Markstrom After Practice Incident
Jacob Markstrom will miss the next 10-14 days after getting hit by a puck in Panthers practice, per Paul Maurice 🤕 In 6 games this year, Markstrom has posted a 2.21 GAA along with 0.897 SV%. https://t.co/nLPPqbMmJF
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) October 20, 2026
It's not often that a goalie gets hurt by a puck through all that padding, especially in practice, but that seems to be what's happened here, per head coach Paul Maurice.
“He’s probably out 10-to-14 days,” Maurice said. “Just got hit with the puck.”
Markstrom was acquired by the Panthers this season to replace the departed Sergei Bobrovsky.
Now in his 17th season, Markstrom is back with the team that drafted him in the second round way back in 2008. He's off to a 3-1-1 start with an .897 save percentage and a 2.21 goals-against average. He also missed two games last week with an earlier, undisclosed injury.
In his stead, the Cats have called up Cooper Black from Charlotte in the AHL once again. The massive 6'8" netminder has posted a 2-1-0 mark with a .919 save percentage and a 2.67 goals-against average, and will be making his NHL debut whenever he gets the call from Maurice over the next couple of weeks.
The 25-year-old has had a nice run in the AHL over the previous couple of seasons, maintaining a Sv% well over .900.
In the meantime, Akira Schmid will take over as the starter between the pipes for Florida. The 26-year-old hasn't been overly impressive thus far this season, with an .878 Sv%.