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The Florida Panthers have fared relatively well without the services of their two best players over the last week — but reinforcements are on the way. Matthew Tkachuk, who has missed the last five games because of an illness, will return to the lineup when the Minnesota Wild visit Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday night.
“Based on what I saw in practice, I will assume he plays tomorrow,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said on Monday, according to NHL.com's George Richards. “We need to make sure he comes to the rink feeling as good as he left, but we expect those things to happen. We expect him to play. We were cautious. … It got taken care of.’”
Tkachuk was initially expected to miss a week, with the target for his return being Tuesday night's game. He looks right on track to provide a massive boost to Florida's lineup after returning to the ice last week and joining practice on Monday.
“I just had to get a little procedure done but been good since then,” Tkachuk told The Miami Herald's Jordan McPherson after the morning skate. “Had to take a few days just to make sure everything was all settled. So feeling good right now, and ready to get back in the lineup and help.”
Tkachuk has chipped in two assists over two games, and is set to slot in with Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe in the top-six, as well as join the top powerplay unit.
The Panthers will be happy to have the 26-year-old superstar back in the lineup — and it looks like the captain is not far behind.
Matthew Tkachuk back; Sasha Barkov could join him this week
Along with Tkachuk, the Panthers are without Aleksander Barkov, who has also missed the past five games with a lower-body injury. He sustained the ailment trying to stop Tim Stutzle from scoring into an empty net in a 3-1 Florida loss to Ottawa on October 10.
Maurice told reporters that the reigning Selke Trophy winner skated before practice on Monday and is on track to potentially return this week — maybe even as soon as Thursday against the Rangers in New York.
“I think it will be sometime on this trip and I think he plays before we go to Finland,” said the bench boss, per Richards. “If it is not right where we need to be, it will be in Finland. But he will be playing.”
After Tuesday's tilt against the Wild, the Panthers head on a three-game road trip to play the Rangers, New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres. After that, they'll be flying overseas to play a back-to-back set against the Dallas Stars in the 2024 Global Series Finland on November 1 and 2.
The games will be played in Tampere, Finland — Barkov's hometown — so it's encouraging to see that he will almost certainly be suiting up for those two European contests.
Without the two forwards, the Panthers have gone 3-1-1 and now hold a 4-2-1 record on the season. That's good enough for first place in the Atlantic Division, and the team should continue to surge with Tkachuk and Barkov back in the fold.
