It has been over a month since the last time Florida Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk was seen playing in a competitive game. That was during the championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament before the United States and Canada on Feb. 20.
As for his most recent appearance in an NHL game, that happened on Feb. 8 versus the Ottawa Senators at home.
Tkachuk is still on the long-term injured reserve due to a groin injury he sustained in the 4 Nations Face-Off tourney, but for the first time since his injury, he was able to skate on Monday. However, that doesn’t seem to be indicative of a looming return from the 27-year-old star.
“He was, basically, just out there touching pucks today,”Florida head coach Paul Maurice said of Tkachuk (h/t NHL.com independent correspondent George Richards). “There was no conditioning component to it because we’re just not there yet.”
“He will probably just get out on the ice to move some pucks around for the next couple of days, perhaps a week or so,” Maurice continued. “Then, hopefully, we will get to a point where he can start driving.”
It appears that Matthew Tkachuk will not suit up for the Panthers until at least the 2025 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, with Maurice also saying that “we’re still a ways away from that [Tkachuk returning].”
Maurice hinted that the first round of the playoffs “is what we’re shooting for” regarding the possible return date for Tkachuk.
Tkachuk has missed 16 games due to the injury, though, Florida has managed to keep its head above water during his absence. The Panthers have gone 10-6-0 over that 16-game span while posting 5-on-5 stats of 54.4 Corsi for percentage and a 98.5 PDO.
Through Monday, the Panthers are third in the Atlantic Division standings with 91 points on a 44-26-3 record. They are seven points ahead of the Ottawa Senators, who are fourth in the division.
Despite his long absence, Matthew Tkachuk is third on the Panthers with 57 points off of 22 goals and 35 assists through 52 games played. While he’s still out, there will be added pressure on the likes of Sam Reinhard, Aleksander Barkov, Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe to provide consistent offense for the Panthers, who are 12th in the league thus far this season with an average of 3.12 goals per contest.
The defending Stanley Cup champions have nine games left on their schedule before the postseason, including a date with the Montreal Canadiens this Tuesday night to start a four-leg road trip.
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