What will the Panthers gain when Matthew Tkachuk returns? ‘There’s no one like him’
Matthew Tkachuk took the next step toward his eventual return, with the Florida Panthers’ star winger practicing with the team for the first time Saturday since sustaining an apparent groin injury in mid-February during the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The Panthers are hopeful Tkachuk will be back in the lineup when they begin their first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday at Amalie Arena (8:30 p.m., ESPN/Scripps Sports). Panthers coach Paul Maurice had previously said a decision will be made after their practice on Monday.
“It was a special teams day, so it’s not a lot of contact, not a lot of five men moving, but it was a good day for where we’re at,” Maurice said after practice Saturday. “Matthew looked like Matthew. He looked fine, but it wasn’t a heavy enough day or from a duration point of view long enough to make a game assessment. We’ll see how it comes back in [Sunday] and put the whole group back on the ice on Monday.”
Tkachuk was a full participant on Saturday and took his normal spots as Florida’s second line right winger alongside center Sam Bennett and left wing Mackie Samoskevich as well as being on the top power-play unit with Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Samoskevich and Seth Jones.
“There’s no one like him,’’ Barkov said. “Well, his brother [Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk], but there is no one exactly like him in the way he is as a teammate, the way he plays the game, the way he treats everyone in the room. We have missed him a lot so far. Getting him more and more involved with the team, in the locker room, has helped a lot. He’s close and it’s awesome. We can’t wait to see him back. He’s a special, special player. So, we’re happy to have him.’’
Tkachuk, who is on long-term injured reserve, sustained the injury during the United States’ 3-1 win against Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off on Feb. 15 — his second game of the tournament. He didn’t play the final 12:36 of that game, which secured the United States’ spot in the championship game and during which he led a run of three fights in the opening nine seconds. With the USA already locked into the title game, Tkachuk then sat out the round-robin finale against Sweden on Feb. 17 entirely.
In the championship game on Feb. 20, which Canada won 3-2 in overtime, Tkachuk played just 6:47 and finished his final shift with 3:22 left in the second period.
Tkachuk has not played for the Panthers since then but did begin skating again on March 31 and has spent the past two-and-a-half weeks doing individual drills to get his conditioning back.
Prior to the injury, Tkachuk was second on the Panthers in goals (22), assists (35) and points (57) while leading the team with 11 power-play goals and 23 power-play points over 52 games.
“He’s a dog on this team,” Bennett said. “He brings the energy and he’s got the leadership. He’s gonna mix things up. He’s gonna get guys into the game. Whenever he’s able to come back, it’s gonna be a huge boost for our squad. Hopefully that’s sooner rather than later.”
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