Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk Makes Candid Admission About Injury Scare

“I didn’t know if I was gonna come back at the start,” Tkachuk said. “I kinda found out the day before (the playoffs) that I was gonna have a chance to play—the day of, honestly.”

Tkachuk had been dealing with a lower-body injury suffered during the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. The groin issue forced him to miss Florida’s final 25 regular-season games after limiting him to just 6:47 of ice time in the 4 Nations final.

The uncertainty carried right up to the opening night of the playoffs.

“I thought there was maybe a 50% chance I wouldn’t be playing about a week or five days before playoffs,” Tkachuk said. “I’m very lucky and fortunate that I’ve got great trainers and doctors. They all somehow got me healthy enough to play.”

Tkachuk acknowledged that he wasn’t close to 100% in the first round against Tampa Bay, which he called the worst of them "by far."

“The first round was definitely the worst I felt, by far,” Tkachuk said. “I knew that even at nowhere close to what I expect out of myself, I needed to help out as best I (could). I was proud of myself and happy for playing that round.”

Tkachuk surely overtook any issue and has appeared in all 22 postseason games for the Panthers this playoffs, scoring 22 points, including seven goals and 15 assists, entering Game 6 against the Oilers on Tuesday.