Panthers' Tkachuk on ice at team skate
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Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk was skating in top-six sweater during the team's session Saturday morning, according to multiple reports.
Head coach Paul Maurice told reporters Thursday that every player is a possibility for Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, indicating Tkachuk could make his return after missing more than two months. The series does not begin until Tuesday evening.
Maurice said after Saturday's session that "Matthew looked like Matthew," but added that Saturday's session wasn't intense enough to make a game assessment. Maurice said the team is expecting to learn more during Monday's practice, which will be closer to game speed.
The 27-year-old Tkachuk has not played since the 4 Nations Face-Off final due to a lower-body injury. He had 22 goals and 35 assists for 57 points in 52 games prior to going on the shelf.
The Panthers lost seven of their final 10 regular season games to close out the regular season, but Maurice indicated the team's primary focus has been getting healthy ahead of the postseason.
“Who you play does not matter and I don't say that out of an arrogant, ‘We don’t care who we play, that's how good we are,'” Maurice said. “If you aren't healthy, you can win a game but you're not winning. And this is true of every team in the NHL. When you get down to the top eight in the conference, you need a certain threshold of health. So, that has to be priority one.”
Sens' Tkachuk also skating
Meanwhile, Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk was on the ice Saturday morning at the team's skate, one day before opening their first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Tkachuk missed time from late March to mid April with an upper-body injury but returned Thursday for the Sens' regular-season finale. Tkachuk sat out the third period after taking a stick to the face, but said the reason for departing was precautionary.
"Yeah, no issues," Tkachuk said after the game.
“I haven’t played in two and a half weeks," he said. "So just get the timing and I mean it’s not that much time at the end. But (I) just wanted to get some reps, power-play reps, and I think we accomplished that.”
Tkachuk also took a high stick to the face during Saturday's session but head coach Travis Green said he wasn't concerned.
Tkachuk had 29 goals and 26 assists for 55 points in 72 games during the regular season.