Is Aleksander Barkov injured? Insider reveals major update on Panthers star ahead of Game 3

Aleksander Barkov was seen practicing today ahead of Thursday's Game 3 in the Stanley Cup Final. He was injured during their team's win on Monday against the Edmonton Oilers after a hit from Leon Draisaitl.

Barkov was hit in the jaw and did not return to the game, so his status moving forward was in doubt.

After Jameson Olive's tweet, NHL reporter David Dwork followed up with more information regarding Barkov's activity in practice:

"Sasha Barkov is practicing this morning, wearing his usual white jersey, centering Florida’s top line in rushes," Dwork wrote.

This development served as good news for the Panthers and an indicator that Barkov could be back for the next game.

He recorded six goals and 13 assists for 19 points throughout the playoffs. In the first two games of the finals, he had two assists.

Panthers head coach Paul Maurice gives update on Aleksander Barkov

After Game 2, Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice gave an update on his captain Barkov. Luckily, Maurice said the injury wasn't as bad as they thought.

"He wasn't worse, so that's a really good thing," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said, via TSN. "The real assessment will be tomorrow. We had some things that needed to be looked at today that got looked at. There’s nothing sinister there. He kind of passed that. He felt better today. Feels good. But you’ve got to give it another 24 hours to make sure that he feels strong.”

Although Barkov was injured on the play, no discipline was given to Draisaitl for the hit, which Maurice didn't give much of a comment on.

"The league will make their decision and then we're not dealing with that any more today," Maurice said Tuesday.

Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final is set for Thursday in Edmonton at 8 p.m. ET.