About a week ago, Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice dropped a lil’ update that had fans biting their nails and crossing their fingers. Matthew Tkachuk was still riding the recovery train, and as Maurice put it, he was “expected to miss the rest of the regular season,” though the Panthers were still holding tight to that sweet hope of him being back just in time for Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. “That’s where we’re still shooting for. Depending on when those games get scheduled, it may have an impact on him,” Maurice said, keeping it cautiously optimistic. Tkachuk did hop on the ice for about 45 minutes this past Monday, but let’s not get too excited—Maurice called it “touching pucks” only, with zero conditioning. “He’ll probably just get out in the ice and move some pucks around for a few more days, probably another week or so. And then hopefully we can get to a point that he can start driving,” Maurice added.
And yep, he kept it real—“You can do off-ice things to try to mitigate some of the conditioning losses, but he’s going to have to get into some significant skates here, and I think we’re a ways from that.” Still, even without their star stirrer in the lineup, the Cats had a shot at punching their playoff ticket with a win against Ottawa, but a rough 3-0 L meant they had to cross their claws and hope the hockey gods came through. And guess what? They did. The Devils took down the Rangers, and then Toronto absolutely flattened Columbus 5-0 to seal the deal. Now, the Panthers are in. And here’s the juicy part—a former NHL GM just tossed out a warning to the rest of the league… Tkachuk or not, Florida’s comin’ in hot.
The host on SportsNet asked, “After watching Florida this week, do you still think Florida’s Florida? There’s a point where I didn’t want to say it out loud to people, but I kind of thought Florida fell off. They just don’t look like the same team to me. But that was a hint of it, and as they get healthy, they could still be Florida… possibly?” Gord Stellick replied, “Well, what hit me was, and it was like those great Detroit teams for all those years, you know—No space. There’s no space when they’re playing your game. Their game, there is no space out there.”
He continued, acknowledging Florida Panthers’ challenge without Matthew Tkachuk: “That struck me last night, and they don’t have Matthew Tkachuk playing right, so that’s the thing. It’s a challenge.” He also reflected on the Leafs, saying, “I maintain the Leafs probably were a stronger team a few years ago when they had the lower contracts and could’ve got more veteran players. They just never had great goaltending in the playoffs.” Finally, he wrapped it up with, “Florida’s going to be a challenge.”
So the Panthers, fresh off that epic Stanley Cup win, have five games left to close out the regular season. After a rough stretch of not making the playoffs for a decade, they’ve been on fire lately, winning seven out of their last eight postseason series. Now, with just six points behind the Leafs for that top spot in the Atlantic, and a point trailing Tampa for second, it’s looking like another Florida vs. Tampa showdown in round one, just like last year.
With a four-point cushion over Ottawa for the Wild Card 1 spot, the Panthers are sitting pretty in the playoff picture. They took down Tampa in five games last season, finally beating them in the postseason after three tries. The 2025 NHL playoffs kick off on April 19, and interestingly, the Panthers wrap up the regular season in Tampa on April 15. But with Matthew Tkachuk out, the Florida Panthers’ fans are indeed waiting for his comeback!
Florida Panthers’ star has an injury update!
Here’s the tea from South Florida—Matthew Tkachuk’s been MIA since mid-February after tweaking his lower body while repping the U.S. at the 4 Nations Face-Off. And yeah, the Florida Panthers definitely feel his absence. He’s been skating on his own and tagging along for road trips, but Coach Paul Maurice kept it real saying he’s “still a ways away.” No timeline shifts yet, but that playoff start date? Might just be the magic marker everyone’s watching.
Now here’s where things get a little interesting… or maybe just a little more nerve-wracking. According to Elliotte Friedman in his latest 32 Thoughts, Tkachuk hasn’t just been chilling and hoping for the best—he’s actively shopping around for top-tier advice. “Tkachuk — who has skated — sought out several different opinions, including overseas.” That’s right, boy’s going international in the hopes of finding answers, which kinda hints that things aren’t healing up quite as quick as fans had hoped.
With 22 goals and 57 points in just 52 games this season, he’s been a straight-up difference maker in Florida’s push to repeat as champs. But with the regular season wrapping up April 15 against Tampa, nobody’s betting on seeing him suit up that night. So it’s all eyes on round one—because if the NHL’s Florida Panthers don’t survive the first hurdle, there’s a real chance Tkachuk’s spring comeback tour won’t even get off the ground.
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