The Florida Panthers will be without veteran defenseman Dmitry Kulikov on a week-to-week basis due to an upper-body injury, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice confirmed Wednesday.

Maurice added that he remains hopeful that Kulikov will return to the lineup prior to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Facing the New York Islanders on Sunday, Kulikov suffered the upper-body injury late in the first period and did not return. On the season, Kulikov has made 68 appearances with the Panthers in which he has tallied four goals and nine assists for 13 points coupled with 38 penalty minutes and a plus-13 rating. Kulikov also ranks fifth among Florida defensemen in averaging 19:17 in ice time per game.

Skating in his second tour with Florida, earlier this year Kulikov reached the 1,000 career games mark following 16 seasons that has included stops with the Panthers, Buffalo Sabres, Winnipeg Jets, New Jersey Devils, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks, and Pittsburgh Penguins. Along the way, Kulikov has recorded 50 goals and 197 assists for 247 points. The 34-year-old Russian-born blue-liner has also registered 10 points through 53 postseason appearances highlighted by two assists in last year’s 24-game run to the Stanley Cup.

With Kulikov sidelined long term, his absence further complicates a Florida blue line that is already without star defenseman Aaron Ekblad who earlier in March was suspended 20 games for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program. Ekblad has since served four games of the suspension.

For the Panthers, on the season the club sits atop the Atlantic Division with a 41-24-3 showing, two points ahead of both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs. In the midst of a two-game losing skid, the Panthers will look to return to their winning ways when the squad retakes the ice Thursday versus the Columbus Blue Jackets.