"Panthers Forward Matthew Tkachuk's Status Against Lightning to be Determined at Game Time"
Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk will possibly play in Tuesday's Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice stated that Tkachuk's status will be determined after warmups.
Tkachuk was then activated from injured reserve four hours before the game.
The 27-year-old has been out of the lineup since February 15th due to a groin injury sustained while playing for the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off. He returned to play five days later, but only logged 6:47 of ice time in the Americans' 3-2 loss to Canada in the championship game.
This season, Tkachuk recorded 57 points (22 goals, 35 assists) in 52 games for the Panthers.
A member of the 2024 Stanley Cup-winning team, Tkachuk has a total of 636 points (240 goals, 396 assists) in his career with the Calgary Flames (2016-22) and Panthers.
