BREAKING NEWS: Matthew Tkachuk sparked outrage within Canada’s hockey community when he sent a provocative seven-word challenge to the Toronto Maple Leafs, mocking Canadian teams

Matthew Tkachuk Misses Practice, Panthers Reveal Injury Status For Game 1

The Florida Panthers are getting ready to begin their second-round playoff series with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the team was missing a key piece at practice. Star wing Matthew Tkachuk sat out of practice on Sunday, sparking some concerns for his availability in Game 1.

However, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice shut down all rumors about him missing the game. Maurice announced that Tkachuk’s missing practice was all by design to allow him to get some extra rest in before the series starts.

“That’s all by design,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “He had a heavy day [Saturday] in getting some of that conditioning and strength back. He is going to be in an every-second-day rotation now as we will be starting tomorrow.”

This is excellent news for the Panthers as Tkachuk is one of the best players on the roster. If this Panthers team is going to take down the Maple Leafs, they are going to need him on the ice.

“It would be critical for any team to have their best players available,” Maurice said Saturday. “The first two games of the series were really the only ones where I was a little bit careful with [Tkachuk’s] minutes. I really don’t think about it behind the bench now.

“Having everyone healthy is highly unusual, and not to be expected. We just kind of roll with it.”

The Panthers are looking to upset the Maple Leafs, and they can make a statement by grabbing Game 1 on the road. Toronto was the best team in the Eastern Conference this season, but many are picking the Panthers to pull the upset in this matchup.