The latest on Matthew Tkachuk as Panthers prepare to resume season after 4 Nations

Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald on Feb 21, 2025

Published in Hockey

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Matthew Tkachuk will not play on Saturday when the Florida Panthers resume their season following the 4 Nations Face-Off as he deals with a lower-body injury sustained during the tournament, coach Paul Maurice said after practice Friday.

How much more time the star winger will miss after that first game? That’s to be determined once Tkachuk rejoins the team and is evaluated by the Panthers’ team doctors.

“Give him day to day, and then I’ll give you a pretty good update in the next couple days,” Maurice said.

Tkachuk has been dealing with his injury, believed to be a groin injury, since the first USA-Canada meeting on Saturday — his second game of the tournament. He didn’t play the final 12:36 of that game, a 3-1 United States win that secured their spot in the championship game. With the USA already locked into the title game, Tkachuk then sat out Monday’s round-robin finale against Sweden entirely.

In the championship game on Thursday, 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.

“I’ll probably have a better handle on it [Saturday], but not a final one,” Maurice said. “My expectation is that we’re gonna give him some rest no matter what, and then we’ll get a handle on it.”

Tkachuk is 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 is a staple in Florida’s top-six, primarily serving as a winger on the Panthers’ second line with center Sam Bennett.

He entered the 4 Nations Face-Off having scored goals in six consecutive games and with 16 total points over the Panthers’ final eight games before the break.

“There’s no one else in the world like Matthew,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. “You can’t really replace that type of player in person. So hopefully it’s nothing too serious. We don’t know how long [he’ll be out]. He’s a huge, huge part of what we do here. I’m sure no matter what, he’s going to be here around. Definitely it’s noticeable when he is not in the room or not not playing the game with us. He’s one of a kind, that’s for sure.”

With Tkachuk out Saturday, Maurice said Evan Rodrigues will join Florida’s second line in Tkachuk’s usual spot on the right wing with Bennett at center and rookie Mackie Samoskevich on the left wing.

Everyone else who participated in the 4 Nations Face-Off is expected to be available Saturday for the Panthers. They had a league-high eight players take part in the tournament. In addition to Tkachuk playing for the United States, Bennett and forward Sam Reinhart played for Canada; defenseman Gustav Forsling represented Sweden; and four Panthers — Barkov, forwards Eetu Luostarinen and Anton Lundell, and defenseman Niko Mikkola — played for Finland.