Matthew Tkachuk, who has been in and out of action for the Florida Panthers during the Stanley Cup Final, faces an uncertain status ahead of Game 5 on Tuesday in Las Vegas.
The star winger didn’t practice on Tuesday after missing much of the third period of Game 4 against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday in Sunrise, Fla. The Panthers lost that game 3-2 to fall behind three games to one in the best-of-seven finals.
Tkachuk also was sidelined was sidelined for part of Game 3 on Thursday due to a possible head injury.
Florida coach Paul Maurice said after practice on Tuesday, “The update will be tomorrow. We’ve been at an optional point for the last two months in terms of skating (on) off days, but you’ll get all that big information tomorrow night.”
Defensemen Brandon Montour and Radko Gudas and forwards Eetu Luostarinen and Nick Cousins also skipped the optional Tuesday practice, according to NHL.com. Luostarinen last played when the Panthers clinched a four-game sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on May 24.
Tkachuk, 25, stood alongside goalie Sergei Bobrovsky as the Panthers’ top two players in the run through the Eastern Conference playoffs. Tkachuk logged nine goals and 12 assists in 16 games as the eighth-seeded Panthers upset the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina.
In the finals, Tkachuk has two goals and one assist in four games.
Tkachuk put up 40 goals and 69 assists in 79 games during the 2022-23 regular season. An All-Star for the Flames in 2021-22, Tkachuk is in his first season with Florida after he was acquired in an offseason trade that sent Jonathan Huberdeau to Calgary.
–Field Level Media