The Florida Panthers will complete their pursuit of the playoffs without leading goal-scorer Nick Bjugstad, who underwent surgery on his lower back Friday.

Panthers General Manager Dale Tallon said the surgery was successful and the young center is expected to make a full recovery.

"After consulting with Nick and thoroughly evaluating the extent of his injury, we mutually felt it was important to have this procedure done as soon as possible," Tallon said in a statement.

"Nick showed a tremendous amount of character over the past month, playing through an injury, while helping our club compete down the final stretch for a playoff spot. He will be closely monitored by our medical staff during his rehabilitation process and will be ready for the start of training camp in September."

Surgery was performed at the Mayo Sports Clinic in Minneapolis.

Bjugstad continued playing with what the team described as lower-body soreness for several weeks. The Panthers had been giving him time off from practice recently for the problem, which dates to a Feb. 19 game at Montreal.

He last played in Saturday's 2-1 shootout win against Boston but was limited to 11:27 of ice time. He didn't play the final six minutes of regulation or in the overtime.

"It just gets to the point where the guy brings it every night and works hard, but he just couldn't give any more [Saturday] night. So we sat him the last 7 or 8 minutes, and he's still sore," Gallant said before the Panthers began their final five-game road trip earlier this week.

Bjugstad, who still leads the team with 24 goals and is second with 43 points. He had three goals and four assists in the 15 games since the injury. Though battling gamely through the injury, Bjugstad hasn't been the force lately that he was earlier in the season when he emerged as the Panthers' dominant offensive player.

Though in only his second full season with the Panthers, Bjugstad was awarded a six-year, $24.6 million contract on Dec. 31. He led the Panthers witgh 38 points (16 goals) last season.