Florida Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk exited with a lower-body injury after a knee-on-knee collision with Tampa Bay Lightning star forward Nikita Kucherov on Monday night in Sunrise, Fla.
With 3:09 remaining in the first period and Florida trailing 3-0 on the back end of a home-and-home series, Tkachuk reached out for the puck and was struck by Kucherov and fell to the ice in pain.
Tkachuk had to be helped off the ice and into the dressing room by training staff. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native returned to the ice at 2:19 of the second period during a stoppage in play, coming down the tunnel and taking the ice.
Kucherov, who scored the game’s first goal, was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct on the hit. Playing in his 30th game of the season, the 31-year-old Russian native is among the NHL scoring leaders with 50 points (15 goals, 35 assists).
A key spark plug in the Panthers’ Stanley Cup championship run last season, the 27-year-old Tkachuk entered Monday with 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists) in 31 games.
–Field Level Media