Panthers star sits out practice ahead of pivotal Game 5

The Florida Panthers may have to go into Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final without superstar forward Matthew Tkachuk, who did not practice on Monday.

Tkachuk, whose 24 points are tied for the most of any player this postseason with Jonathan Marchessault of the Vegas Golden Knights and Roope Hintz of the eliminated Dallas Stars, saw his minutes cut considerably in Game 4’s 3-2 loss and was visibly ailing.

He and Florida coach Paul Maurice were mercurial about his health in the postgame scrum.

“Matthew’s been a grinder his whole life and was again tonight,” Maurice told the media. “We were just looking and hoping to get into a situation to use what he had.”

Tkachuk would not confirm whether or not he was ailing because of the nasty hit by Keegan Kolesar early in Game 3 that briefly sent him to the locker room.

“That’s just not going to come out right now,” Tkachuk said. The winger returned to win that game for Florida in overtime.

Tkachuk, who has four game misconducts in the series and leads the postseason in penalty minutes with 74, would be a massive loss for a Florida team already down 3-1. 

No other Panther has more than Carter Verhaeghe’s 17 points, and no team has overcome a series deficit of that size in the Stanley Cup Final since 1942.

With two tallies and three points in the series and a litany of game-winning goals from throughout the playoffs, the Florida winger could be considered for the Conn Smythe regardless of how this final series ends.

The statuses of Tkachuk and fellow absentees Brandon Montour and Radko Gudas are unconfirmed for Game 5; only Maurice knows which of the three will suit up in Vegas on Tuesday.