Paul Maurice: Matthew Tkachuk ‘not that far off' from Panthers return as playoffs loom
The Florida Panthers have been understandably coy about Matthew Tkachuk's status as he recovers from an apparent groin injury sustained in mid-February during the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.
But with the Stanley Cup playoffs starting this weekend, and the team saying its timeline was for him to hopefully return when the postseason begins, coach Paul Maurice provided yet another update on the star winger as the regular season enters its final days.
'This week is a really important week for him,' Maurice said Monday morning on WQAM's Joe Rose Show. 'He's not that far off. If he's not [ready for Game 1 of the playoffs], he's very, very close. We're not missing this by two weeks.'
Tkachuk, who is on long-term injured reserve, sustained the injury during the United States' 3-1 win against Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off on Feb. 15 — his second game of the tournament. He didn't play the final 12:36 of that game, which secured the United States' spot in the championship game and during which he led a run of three fights in the opening nine seconds. With the USA already locked into the title game, Tkachuk then sat out the round-robin finale against Sweden on Feb. 17 entirely.
In the championship game on Feb. 20, which Canada won 3-2 in overtime, Tkachuk played just 6:47 and finished his final shift with 3:22 left in the second period.
Tkachuk has not played for the Panthers since then but did begin skating again on March 31 and has spent the past two weeks doing individual drills to get his conditioning back.
Maurice said the plan is for Tkachuk to resume working out with the team this week.
'It might be a day or two to [get to] a full push,' Maurice said. 'So what will happen is he'll amp up to full skates and hard skates toward the middle to end of this week. As he goes through those, how quick he recovers the next day will be the key thing. So if he comes in and there's no soreness the next day, then he's right and he'll be ready to go. If he's got a little residual soreness, we may have to hold another day or two, but he's not that far off.'
Prior to the injury, Tkachuk was second on the Panthers in goals (22), assists (35) and points (57) while leading the team with 11 power-play goals and 23 power-play points over 52 games. He is a staple in Florida's top-six, primarily serving as a winger on the Panthers' second line with center Sam Bennett.
This story will be updated.
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