Matthew Tkachuk has officially returned to the Florida Panthers lineup for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The prominent Panthers player participated in the pre-game warmup and was confirmed to be in the lineup for Tuesday`s playoff opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Earlier in the day, head coach Paul Maurice had indicated that Tkachuk`s status would be a game-time decision. This followed the team activating him from long-term injured reserve.
Tkachuk had been sidelined due to a lower-body injury sustained approximately two months prior, during the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.
The 27-year-old suffered the injury in Team USA`s second game of the event. Although he dressed for the final game against Canada, he did not play in the third period or during overtime.
Following the tournament, Tkachuk was placed on long-term injured reserve, which caused him to miss the final 25 games of Florida`s regular season schedule.
Despite the missed time, he still finished the regular season as the third-highest scorer on the team, accumulating 57 points (22 goals and 35 assists) in 52 games played.
