Jacob Markstrom will miss the next 10 to 14 days after taking a puck in Panthers practice, according to Paul Maurice.
Gino Hard relayed the update Tuesday, just ahead of a busy week.
Markstrom has a .897 save percentage through six games, with one shutout. His goals-against average sits at 2.21, per the same post.
He has three wins this season, one of them in overtime.
The 36-year-old carries a $6,000,000 cap hit.
Florida can survive two weeks. What it can't afford is a backup sitting under .880 for much longer than that.
It's like twisting an ankle walking to the car on the morning of a road trip. Nothing dramatic, just terrible timing.
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Panthers lose Jacob Markstrom for 10-14 days after practice injury
Schmid sits at .878 on a $2,000,000 cap hit.
He has two wins in four appearances, and the 26-year-old will need to steady things quickly.
Florida opens the trip in Ottawa on Wednesday, then visits Pittsburgh, Chicago and Winnipeg.
The Panthers are 5-2-2 and have won three straight, including Saturday's 8-3 win over Seattle.
Florida is 3-1-2 on the road, and the Panthers have allowed 25 goals in nine games.
They're already without Aleksander Barkov until at least Nov 27 and Brad Marchand until at least Nov 21.
Matthew Tkachuk leads the team with 14 points, while Brady Tkachuk has 6 goals.
Sam Reinhart has 4 power-play goals, and Radko Gudas is day-to-day with an undisclosed issue.
The timing is interesting. Connor Hellebuyck's suspension is set to end Friday, and Elliotte Friedman has reported Florida made an offer earlier in the saga.
Hellebuyck carries an $8,500,000 cap hit.
Chris Johnston said last week a mystery team could appear in that race if there's an injury somewhere.
Bill Zito has a short-term problem, not necessarily a long-term one, but the market won't wait for him.
Is a two-week absence enough to send Florida back to Winnipeg's door again?
Florida visits Winnipeg on Oct. 27. That date just got a whole lot more interesting.
Should the Panthers make another push for Connor Hellebuyck?
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