Florida Panthers forward, played a key role in Team USA’s journey to the championship game of the first-ever 4 Nations Face-Off. Tkachuk and his brother, Brady, ranked ninth and tenth in tournament scoring, each recording three points—Matthew in three games and Brady in four. The brothers gained attention during Team USA’s round-robin matchup against Canada when both engaged in separate fights just nine seconds into the game, responding to Canadian fans booing the “Star-Spangled Banner.”
This season, Tkachuk ranks second on the Panthers in both goals (22) and points (57), trailing only center Sam Reinhart. However, the team will be without him for a short period following an unfortunate update. On Friday, it was announced that the 27-year-old winger is unlikely to play against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday due to a lower-body injury.
“My expectation is that he won’t be playing tomorrow,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “I’ll probably have a better idea on Saturday, but not a definitive one. … I don’t know if we’ll have one or more players out, but regardless, we plan to give [Tkachuk] some rest. Then we’ll reassess over the next few days.”
Tkachuk sustained the injury during the 4 Nations tournament, which impacted his performance in Team USA’s final two games. He logged only 6:47 of ice time in Thursday’s 3-2 overtime loss in the championship—playing the second-fewest minutes among American forwards, ahead of only Chris Kreider.
“Obviously, he fights through everything, and yeah, I don’t think it’s looking too good,” Brady Tkachuk said after the loss to Canada. “We’ll have to wait and see what happens, but I know he’s really disappointed.”