The Florida Panthers were back on the ice Saturday as they continue preparing for their second round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It was a full team practice, and everyone was present and accounted for, but for a little while there was one noticeable absence.
While the majority of the Panthers roster practiced on the second ice sheet at the Baptist Health IcePlex, forward Matthew Tkachuk worked with Panthers Skills Coach Max Ivanov on the main rink.
Eventually, Tkachuk’s teammates joined him on stadium side of the facility for some special teams work before practice wrapped up.
The reason Tkachuk’s absence from the main practice was notable is that Tkachuk has been working his way back from a severe lower-body injury he suffered during the 4 Nations Face-Off, one that kept him out of the lineup for over two months.
Tkachuk returned for the start of the playoffs and was quite impactful, both physically and on the scoresheet, and he had not missed a practice since coming back.
He finished Florida’s five-game opening round series victory over Tampa Bay with three goals and two assists on eight shots to go with 11 penalty minutes while averaging 13:42 of ice time, which is down about five minutes from what he averaged during the regular season.
“The first two games of the series were the only time I was a little bit careful with (his) minutes,” Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice acknowledged on Saturday.
As for Tkachuk’s solo workout, Maurice explained that it wasn’t to hold him back and manage his workload.
Quite the opposite, actually.
“He did more today than had he practiced with us,” Maurice said. “He’s doing some strength and some conditioning stuff, and we just can’t do it all in one day, so that was the key piece.”
It sounds like both Tkachuk and the Panthers as a whole are all systems go for Game 1 against Toronto on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena.
During the main part of Florida’s practice, the team’s line rushes remained the same as they were for Game 5 against Tampa, aside from Mackie Samoskevich filling in for Tkachuk on the second line.
We’ll see if his ice time starts to tick back up as the playoffs progress. It will be something to keep an eye on, that’s for sure.
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