Overview
- The All-Star winger practiced Sunday for the first time this season, a little over four months after surgery to repair a sports hernia and torn adductor.
- He sustained the injuries in February while playing for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off and chose surgery after an initial rehab attempt over the summer.
- Tkachuk has not played since Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, finishing last postseason with 23 points in 23 games during Florida's second straight championship run.
- Florida planned for a “December-ish” timeline, and Tkachuk has expressed goals of appearing in the Winter Classic and representing Team USA at the Milan Cortina Olympics in February.
- The Panthers are juggling other key injuries, including captain Aleksander Barkov, and entered Sunday tied for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.