Matthew Tkachuk will make his season debut for the Florida Panthers when they host the San Jose Sharks at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Monday (6 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, NBCSCA).
The forward has yet to play this season after having surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia on Aug. 22.
But Tkachuk took the ice in a regular jersey during the morning skate Monday on a line with Mackie Samoskevich and Evan Rodrigues.
Tkachuk traveled with the Panthers for their six-game road trip, which ended on Saturday, but he did not play. It was the first time he traveled with them this season.
His return is a boon for Florida (25-19-3), which has a long list of injured players, headlined by captain Aleksander Barkov, out for the regular season with a knee injury. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions entered Monday four points behind the Buffalo Sabres for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
The Panthers are also without defenseman Seth Jones, who is week to week after an upper-body injury sustained during the Winter Classic on Jan. 2.
Forward Brad Marchand, who hasn’t played since Jan. 6 because of an undisclosed injury, was also on the ice Monday but will miss his sixth straight game.
Tkachuk, who was named to Team USA’s roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 next month, was initially injured at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February, missing the final 25 games of the regular season. He returned for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Tampa Bay Lightning and played all 23 games of the Panthers’ run to their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship. He had 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists).
