FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Matthew Tkachuk will skate Tuesday morning. Whether or not he’ll play for the Florida Panthers of their playoff opener on Tuesday evening is anybody’s guess.
Tkachuk — who hasn’t performed for the Panthers since Feb. 8 and hasn’t performed any video games for the reason that 4 Nations Face-Off two months in the past due to a lower-body harm — went by way of follow on Monday with the reigning Stanley Cup champions, his second on-ice exercise in a three-day span.
However the Panthers wish to see how he will get by way of morning skate on Tuesday earlier than deciding whether or not he performs in Recreation 1 of their Jap Convention first-round collection at Tampa Bay that evening.
“He’s bought to get by way of the morning skate tomorrow,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice mentioned after Monday’s follow. “We’re nonetheless monitoring the restoration off the follow. So, he was out early earlier than we went, went by way of an entire follow, stayed till the top. We’ll see how he feels coming again in tomorrow. And if he feels good and he will get by way of that morning skate and all people’s thumbs-up, then he’ll go.”
Tkachuk bought harm within the second sport of the 4 Nations, then tried to play within the remaining towards Canada however didn’t take any shifts for the third interval or extra time of that contest.
The Panthers positioned Tkachuk on long-term injured reserve. He missed the workforce’s remaining 25 video games of the common season, but nonetheless completed with 22 targets, 35 assists and 57 factors — third-most on the workforce in all three classes. He was additionally second on the Panthers this season with 11 power-play targets.
It appears like the choice goes to be whether or not he is prepared for Recreation 1 or Recreation 2. Maurice famous that two extra days — the sport between the collection opener and Thursday’s second sport — may be helpful.
“We’re shut sufficient now that you just additionally put your self in that state of affairs the place you’d think about two extra days, in the event you felt you had been proper there,” Maurice mentioned. “We’ll simply let the medical doctors and Matthew inform us the place he’s at after which we’ll go from there.”
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