Paul Maurice seems to know how to rest players. At least it seemed that way at the start of round one of the playoffs, where Matthew Tkachuk was returning from a lower body injury he sustained during the Four Nations Face Off earlier in the year that caused him to sit out of 25 games of the regular season. The very fact that Tkachuk was not only able to make game 1 round 1 of the playoffs but also score two goals and an assist in the Panthers’ first 6-2 win says a lot both about the player and the coach! Well, let’s see if they can keep it up for round 2.

As the Panthers prepare to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in round 2 of the playoffs, it seems that Tkachuk is back to resting. In a statement released by the Florida Panthers’ digital manager today, it was confirmed that Tkachuk had a day off practice. “All by design,” the statement from Maurice read, “He had a heavy day yesterday. Get some of that conditioning and strength back. He’s in that not-every-second-day rotation now.” 

Considering Matthew Tkachuk averaged 13:42 minutes during these playoffs, which is around 5 minutes less than what he averaged during the regular season (18:14 of ice time in 52 regular-season games,) it seems like the rest is more than warranted, especially before the start of another grueling series against their 2023 competitors, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Back in 2023 they were able to knock them out in round 2, so whether Tkachuk is fit to work his magic this year will be a vital factor in deciding the fate of the series.

What Paul Maurice has Matthew Tkachuk’s practice sessions looking like as the Panthers prepare for round 2

Paul Maurice, who has likely been planning for Matthew Tkachuk’s comeback ever since the 4 Nations Face Off, is good at working with this player in this state and has a solid plan. Even yesterday during practice, Tkachuk trained separately from his team, receiving strength and conditioning training to get back into shape before he starts working on re-integrating himself with the team.

During today’s practice that Tkachuk sat out of, Mackie Samoskevich replaced him in the second line, while the rest of the lineup remained the same as it had during round 1 of the series. It is yet to be determined whether Samoskevich might live up to Tkachuk’s play, but the game plan may be that the team is so solid all around that they’ll be able to figure it out if and when the time comes.

And it seems more like an ‘if’ than a ‘when,’ considering Tkachuk’s performance in this series already and his steady training regime that isn’t overworking him but rather allowing him to build back to his best form. Whether or not Maurice has plans to have Tkachuk in on Monday is yet to be seen; he might be saving him for later on in round 2, or even making big plans for round 3!

In the meanwhile, while Matthew Tkachuk rests, he can find some extra relief in the fact that we won’t have to face off against his brother Brady this time around!