Florida Panthers star winger Matthew Tkachuk suffered a lower-body injury during the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, with updates from Coach Paul Maurice suggesting that the situation is not as serious as initially feared. Tkachuk, believed to have a groin injury, missed significant time during the tournament and sat out the first game back for the Panthers. His performance stats highlight his importance to the team, being second in goals and points, leading in power-play contributions. Further evaluations are pending to determine the next steps for his recovery.
"I don't have a timeline on him. He is going to get looked at today," Maurice said Monday morning on the Joe Rose Show. "We're hoping it's not too serious."
Tkachuk has been dealing with his injury, believed to be a groin injury, since the first USA-Canada meeting. He didn't play the final 12:36 of that game, a 3-1 United States win that secured their spot in the championship game.
Maurice had said previously that Tkachuk, who returned to South Florida on Friday, would be fully evaluated on Sunday and Monday to determine the severity of the injury.
Tkachuk is 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.
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