Tkachuk is Back: How to Watch Panthers v Sharks, Lines, Odds

FORT LAUDERDALE — The Florida Panthers will have a big piece of their lineup back Monday when Matthew Tkachuk returns against the San Jose Sharks.

Tonight’s game was moved up to 6 p.m. because of the Miami Hurricanes playing Indiana in the 2025 National Championship down the road at Hard Rock Stadium.

Tkachuk has been out of the lineup all season after having surgery in August to repair a sports hernia and torn adductor.

He says all is well now, and he is ready to get back after it.

“I’m happy with the whole recovery process,” Tkachuk said. “There’s a lot of people back in the training room and back in the weight room  I have to thank for getting me back to 100 percent.

“It took until January, but I’m happy to finally be feeling like myself again.”

With Tkachuk back in, the Panthers have shifted some of their lines.

Tkachuk will start with Evan Rodrigues and Mackie Samoskevich on the third line.

Sandis Vilmanis remains in the lineup after a strong start and moves to the fourth line with Cole Schwindt and Jesper Boqvist.

For complete coverage of the Sharks, definitely check out San Jose Hockey Now.

NOTES: PANTHERS AT CAPITALS

• Brad Marchand was back on the ice Monday and was not in a no-contact jersey. He spent a lot of time after the morning skate working with the scratches.
• The Panthers placed center Jack Studnicka on waivers Monday afternoon. He was not going to play tonight.
• Noah Gregor has been sent to AHL Charlotte to clear a roster spot. He cleared waivers on Jan. 10.
• Starting Goalies: Sergei Bobrovsky is back in net for the Panthers after playing in five of the six games in the most recent road trip. Alex Nedeljkovic goes for the much improved Sharks.
  How to Watch/Stream: The Panthers are back on local television tonight but also on NHL Network. To stream, use Panthers+ locally or ESPN+ nationally.
• NHL Betting Odds: The Panthers are a solid favorite (-185) on the money line at the local book. To win with Florida, a $185 bet wins $100.

ON DECK: GAME No. 48

SAN JOSE SHARKS at FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Monday, 6 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WQAM 560; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Local Betting Odds — Panthers Favored: MoneyLine (-185); Puck Line -1.5 (+130); O/U 6.5 (-115/-105)
• Last Season: Florida won 2-0 
  
• This Season (Sharks Lead 1-0) — At Florida: Monday. At San Jose: Sharks 3, Panthers 1 (Nov. 8)
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 25-14-1, 7 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Thursday at Winnipeg Jets, 8 p.m.

PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS (25-19-3) LINES

27 Eetu Luostarinen // 15 Anton Lundell // 13 Sam Reinhart

23 Carter Verhaeghe // 9 Sam Bennett // 10 A.J. Greer

11 Mackie Samoskevich // 17 Evan Rodrigues // 19 Matthew Tkachuk

95 Sandis Vilmanis // 79 Cole Schwindt // 70 Jesper Boqvist

42 Gus Forsling // 5 Aaron Ekblad

77 Niko Mikkola // 26 Uvis Balinskis

22 Toby Bjornfot // 2 Jeff Petry

72 Sergei Bobrovsky

40 Daniil Tarasov

Scratched: Donovan Sebrango, Luke Kunin, Jack Studnicka

Sent to Charlotte: Noah Gregor

Injured: Brad Marchand (lower body), Seth Jones (upper body), Sasha Barkov (knee), Tomas Nosek (knee), Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body)

PROJECTED SAN JOSE SHARKS (24-20-3) LINES

51 Collin Graf // 71 Mackin Celebrini // 2 Will Smith

72 William Eklund // 21 Alexander Wennberg // 73 Tyler Toffoli

84 Pavol Regenda // 77 Michael Misa // 92 Igor Chernyshov

23 Barclay Goodrow // 63 Zack Ostapchuk // 75 Ryan Reaves

9 Dmitry Orlov // 3 John Klingberg

38 Mario Ferraro // 37 Timothy Liljegren

6 Sam Dickinson // 22 Vincent Iorio

33 Alex Nedeljkovic

30 Yaroslav Askarov

Scratched: Jeff Skinner, Adam Gaudette

Injured: Ty Dellandrea (lower body), Vincent Desharnais (upper body), Philipp Kurashev (upper body), Shakir Mukhamadullin (upper body)