Panthers F Matthew Tkachuk won’t play in Game 5 vs. Vegas

Florida Panthers F Matthew Tkachuk is dealing with what could be an upper-body injury and his status for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final vs. the Vegas Golden Knights is up in the air. Head coach Paul Maurice gave no new update on Tuesday afternoon with Game 5 set for 8 p.m. ET from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Tkachuk was only able to play around 16:00 of ice time in Game 4, which the Panthers lost 3-2. Florida had won Game 3 by the same score in overtime. Vegas leads the series 3-1 with a chance to win the Stanley Cup on Tuesday night.

Matthew Tkachuk injury updates

Update — Tkachuk isn’t taking warmups prior to Game 5 for the Panthers and he’s been ruled out. Reinhart is up on the second line at right wing in place of Tkachuk during line rushes. Grigori Denisenko took line rushes in place of Tkachuk on the fourth line.

Maurice did mention that Tkachuk could play a role in some capacity in Game 5. That could mean he plays but doesn’t skate his normal amount of ice time. Tkachuk has been the Panthers engine the entire postseason run, from beating the No. 1 Boston Bruins in the first round, to making it to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1996. Tkachuk leads Florida with 24 points (11 goals) in 10 postseason contests. His absence in Game 5 could be too much for the Panthers to overcome. Florida is already in a tough spot down 3-1 in the series, having to win two road games in order to come back and win a championship.

Tkachuk had been skating on the right wing with Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett on the Panthers’ second line. Chances are if Tkachuk can’t play the entire game, Sam Reinhart will double shift up on the second line and third line, where he is normally. Maurice will likely just ride his top forwards most of the contest with the season on the line.

As of the afternoon, the Panthers are +160 on the moneyline to extend the series while Vegas is -190 on DraftKings Sportsbook.