George Richards, FHN Publisher
The Florida Panthers have had Matthew Tkachuk back at morning skates and on-ice workouts the past few weeks, but Wednesday was the first real practice he participated in where things were able to get a little physical.
Tkachuk has been out since Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, having surgery to repair a sports hernia and torn adductor on Aug. 22.
One of the big steps Tkachuk needs before returning to the Panthers lineup, Paul Maurice said, was seeing how he feels following Wednesday’s practice.
The Panthers will not be on the ice today; the team is flying to Washington for their Stanley Cup celebration at the White House before backtracking to Raleigh.
The Panthers play the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, then return to Washington to face the Capitals.
Could Tkachuk return in one of those games?
We’ll see.
“He got into a normal rotation and we did maybe three drills where there was contact, pucks on the wall, not a lot of time and space,’’ Maurice said. “That timing part is the thing you can’t replicate, even in practice but it’s as close as we can get. It will be a good test for him to see how he recovers.’’
As for a return, Maurice says it is up to Tkachuk.
“The healing has been pretty good, his numbers are good,’’ Maurice said. “We just don’t want him coming in before he feels ready. This is a guy who played with a broken collarbone. He’s going in as soon as he possibly can. We just don’t want to influence it. It really has to be his decision when he feels he not only can go in, but stay in.’’
Brad Marchand was also on the ice Wednesday but he was wearing a yellow no-contact jersey for the first time.
Maurice had said Marchand was day-to-day after he missed Thursday’s game in Montreal.
Marchand has missed three games with his undisclosed injury.
“He’s improving. Still day-to-day,” Maurice said. “He’s out of contact, but still jumped into some contact drills. We just stayed off him. So, that’s an upgrade from where he was a couple of days ago. I don’t know if that puts him in for Carolina, but he’s ahead of where he was a few days ago.”
ON DECK: GAME No. 46
FLORIDA PANTHERS at CAROLINA HURRICANES
- When: Friday, 7 p.m.
- Where: Lenovo Center; Raleigh, NC
- Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
- Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
- Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
- Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
- Series Schedule (Florida Leads 2-0) — At Florida: Panthers 4, Hurricanes 3 SO (Dec.19). At Carolina: Panthers 5, Hurricanes 2 (Dec. 23); Thursday
- Last Regular Season: Panthers Won 2-1
- All-Time Regular Season Series: Carolina/Hartford leads 74-50-10, 11 ties
- Postseason History: Florida 2-0 (d. Carolina in 2023 ECF in 4; 2025 ECF in 5)
- Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday at Washington Capitals, 7