The Florida Panthers saw Matthew Tkachuk return to the ice on Tuesday night. Florida did not have Tkachuk on the ice for the second half of the season. He picked up an injury with Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

However, he showed little to no rust on Tuesday night. He scored his first goal in Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second period. He made a nifty move in front of Andrei Vasilevskiy to put the puck home and make it 4-1.

However, this was not all the Panthers star had in store. He scored a second goal later in the period. This goal required some work from the puck, as Tkachuk shot it into a sea of skates. It appears the puck glanced off Vasilevskiy's pad and in from a replay angle.

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For the most part, the Panthers have dominated play in Game 1. The Panthers scored twice in the first period to give them a 2-1 lead. Florida scored another three goals in the second to put some distance between them and Tampa. Lightning star Brayden Point has scored a goal to bring the score to 5-2.

The Panthers hoped Tkachuk could provide an instant impact. So far, he has certainly lived up to the billing. If this continues, Florida is going to be a force in the postseason once again. And that's a terrifying thought for other Eastern Conference Stanley Cup contenders to wrestle with.