Sitting second for the Panthers with 57 points (22 goals, 35 assists) at the time of injury, Tkachuk was absolutely in tears before being knocked out of the lineup.
The 27-year-old, who made a dent in the scoresheet in seven of the eight games heading to four countries, tallied 16 points (8 goals, 8 assists) during that hot stretch.
Giving Tkachuk extra time to reach as close to 100% as possible, the Panthers will not drop a pack of their first round series with the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena until Tuesday.
Overall, everyone was happy to see the whole group on the ice for the first time this morning.
“It was fun,” Forward Brad Marchand said. “The guys were excited. That’s what we talked about there. It’s the first time we’ve been together as a group. It’s great to see.”
For more information about Tkachuk’s status, please go back following Monday’s practice.
The road is ready
The Panthers are not afraid of the road.
The Stanley Cup champions, who are scheduled to start another playoff run against Game 1 against the Lightning at Amalie Arena on Tuesday, don’t mind waiting a few games before dropping the puck into their barn.
“At this point, we’ve been experienced quite a bit both at home and on the playoff path,” forward Sam Bennett said. “It doesn’t make much of a difference. When you can start on the road, it’s more bonding time. The playoffs are the best time to bond as a team.”
Looking at recent history, the bonds were certainly beneficial.
The Panthers were an elite road team in their consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup final, including capturing the Cup for the first time in franchise history last season.
In the last two playoff runs, they posted a 15-8 record from their home.
Last year they went 7-4 on the road on their way to the cup.
When asked about its success, Maurice believes depth is important.
All four Florida lines should be formidable given the home team’s final changes.
“There’s a level of depth here that’s getting better every year. It takes a major component. The technical component is a matchup game. I think it’s fine there,” Maurice said. “In the next few years of playoffs, there’s some experience there because the strength of the road environment is something you have to deal with.”
Limits power
Lightning and fatal power play have been synonymous for a while.
In fact, the 304 power play target from 2020 to 21 onwards is second in the NHL.
For the Panthers, the goal in Round 1 is to try to turn that power off.
“It’s certainly a big deal,” said defensive man NicoMiccola, who is a big pillar of the Panthers’ penalty kills. “You can win a series in PK or PP. You need to stay away from the box.”
During the regular season, Florida’s penalty kills were better than most people against Tampa Bay.
Despite owning the fifth-place power play in the NHL at 25.9%, the Lightning converted it in just two of two of its 18 trips in four matchups with the Panthers.
Of these goals, one came to Game 82 when the Panthers were resting on some stars.
Of the 15 teams that have played lightning at least three times this season, the Panthers ranked second in penalty kills with a success rate of 88.9%.
During last year’s Cup run, Maurice pointed out a penalty kill as an X-factor.
This year, it’s probably the same.
“They probably have the most dangerous power play in the league,” Merchand said of Tampa Bay. “It doesn’t take that much for them to score. They have a lot of momentum from that. Their top guys get a lot of momentum and feel good on the power play and make a lot out there.
Saturday practice line
forward
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand
Evan Rodriguez – Nico Sturm – Jesper Bokvist
AJ Greer – Tomas Nosek – Jonah Gadjovich
Defender
Gustav Falling – Seth Jones
Niko Mikkora – Dmitry Klikov
Uvis Balinskis – Nate Schmidt
Jaycob Megna – Aaron Eckblood
Goaltender
Sergei Bobrovsky
Vitek Vanecek
