SUNRISE, Fla. --Matthew Tkachuk did not practice Monday, and with the forward's health in question, the Florida Panthers will rely heavily on those who are feeling well in the Stanley Cup Final.
"You know what, it's more important to get rest for the players who aren't banged up, because they're going to have to drive this thing," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Sunday.
Florida plays the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, CBC, SN, TVAS). The Golden Knights have a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series and can win the Stanley Cup for the first time in their six-season history.
In a 3-2 loss in Game 4 on Saturday, Tkachuk went 10:41 of the third period without playing a shift, sitting on the bench because of an undisclosed injury. He was on the ice for the final 2:26, after the Panthers pulled goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and then was on a power play for the final 17.4 seconds.
"Just trying to find a way to go out there and make it work tonight and came up just probably a second short," Tkachuk said postgame. "Time ran out there with me and [forward Sam Bennett] whacking away, so two more seconds there, you never know."
Maurice said there was nothing new to report on Tkachuk and center Eetu Luostarinen, who sustained an undisclosed injury in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes on May 24. Anthony Duclair also missed the first 8:14 of the third period in Game 4 with an undisclosed injury before returning.
"Guys will come in for rehab here now in the next hour or two," Maurice said. "The rest of the healthy guys will meet us at the plane, so we'll have more for you tomorrow."
Tkachuk did not discuss the nature of his injury following Game 4.
The 25-year-old has been a force in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, leading the Panthers with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 20 games. He also leads Florida with three overtime goals, nine power-play points and has four game-winning goals this postseason, tied for the team lead with forward Carter Verhaeghe.
Tkachuk also led the Panthers with 109 points (40 goals, 69 assists) in 79 regular-season games.
Asked how Florida could maximize Tkachuk if he does play Game 5, Maurice said it was "just situational."
"There are players who will play just power play. There are guys who will stay on for offensive zone draws. There are different styles of center, winger, you can play with to kind of put them in a position to be good at what they can be good at," he said.
The Panthers will have their backs against the wall in Game 5. They're fighting to stay alive in the Final, trying to win the Stanley Cup for the first time in their history. They'll need everyone, but especially those who are healthiest.
"Every team has injuries this time of year, but your healthy men drive the bus now," Maurice said. "The injured guys have probably been dealing with it for a while. They know what they can get away with. When you get later into a series, and certainly in our situation, you're not going to leave [center Aleksander] Barkov on the bench very much. So, the guys that are feeling good, the two days will fill the tank for them."
