Tkachuk Was Not Sure He Could Start Cup Playoffs on Time

FORT LAUDERDALE — Matthew Tkachuk said it was not a foregone conclusion that he would be healthy enough to start the Stanley Cup playoffs when the Florida Panthers opened with the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 22.

When Paul Maurice said it would depend on the day Game 1 started as to whether Tkachuk would be in the lineup, it sounds like he was being serious.

The Panthers had a week between their final regular-season game and Game 1 of the Lightning series.

Tkachuk said the team’s medical staff used every one of them to get him ready to play.

“I didn’t know if I was going come back at the start, and kind of found out the day before I was going to have a chance to play. Day of, honestly,’’ Tkachuk said Monday, the day before the Panthers play host to the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

“The first round was definitely the worst I felt, by far. Just knowing that was going to be, other than this round, that was our toughest round, playing Tampa. So I knew that even at nowhere close to what I expected out of myself, I knew I needed to help out as best I can, if we’re going to get by them. So I was proud of myself and happy for playing that round.’’

Tkachuk missed the final 25 games of Florida’s season after sustaining a groin/core injury during the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

The Panthers placed Tkachuk on long-term injured reserve allowing them the salary cap space needed to make additions before the trade deadline.

Florida proceeded to acquire Seth Jones, Nico Sturm, Vitek Vanecek, and one Brad Marchand.

Tkachuk was in the lineup for the Panthers on April 22 in Tampa with Maurice limiting him to 11:43.

He did get 2:09 on the power play where he scored two goals and had the primary assist on Nate Schmidt’s third period goal for the 6-2 final score.

Maurice compared Tkachuk’s night in Game 1 against the Lightning to what he did in Game 4 against Vegas in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final when he soldiered through a broken collarbone sustained the previous game.

“He figured out how to get through the game. I think he had our three best chances to score that night against Vegas, so he could adapt his game very well,’’ Maurice said. “We knew he wasn’t 100 percent or close to it, actually. I think the last three games he’s played have been the best of the playoffs by far, so he’s back.

“He was probably [back in the] Toronto series, late Toronto, early Carolina that he’d come to full health but it was still the mental part about how far you want to stress that, taking hits, giving hits and things like that. In this series, he’s back to full health and when that happens, you’ve seen that line become a very good line on both sides of the puck. They were producing great numbers from the start but, loose isn’t the right word, but they weren’t able to defend as well as they can now.”

Tonight will be the 23rd playoff game that Tkachuk will play coming off the injury. As we have written here before, it will not be a surprise to find out he will need surgery of some kind when the Final is over.

Tkachuk just hopes he gets to party with the Stanley Cup in Fort Lauderdale again before he heads under.

“I had some ups and downs throughout the playoffs, and now I’m feeling the best I felt,’’ Tkachuk said. “I’m very happy with where the health is and everything, and just very lucky that I’m able to be playing. I did not think I was going to be playing. I shouldn’t say that. I thought there was maybe a 50 percent chance I wouldn’t be playing as close to about a week or five days before the playoffs started.

“So, very lucky and fortunate that I’ve got great trainers and doctors and they all somehow got me healthy enough to play.’’

2025 STANLEY CUP FINAL

GAME 6

EDMONTON OILERS @ FLORIDA PANTHERS 

Panthers Lead Best-of-7 Series 3-2

• When: Tuesday, 8 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• National TV: TNT/truTV 
• National Streaming: Max
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys), SiriusXM
• Radio Streaming: SiriusXM, NHL App
• Series Schedule (all games at 8 p.m., TNT) — Game 1: @Edmonton 4, Florida 3 (OT); Game 2: Florida 5, @Edmonton 4 (2OT); Game 3: @Florida 6, Edmonton 1; Game 4: Edmonton 5, @Florida 4 (OT); Game 5: Florida 5, @Edmonton 2; Game 6: @Florida Tuesday; Game 7*: @Edmonton Friday.
• How They Got Here: Edmonton d. Los Angeles (6), Vegas (5), Dallas (5); Florida d. Tampa Bay (5), Toronto (7), Carolina (5)
• Postseason History: Florida Won 2024 Stanley Cup Final 4-3
• Regular Season: Panthers won 2-0
• All-time Regular Season Series: Oilers lead 23-18-0, 3 ties