SUNRISE — If the hockey gods had their way, Monday night’s storyline should rightfully have been the return of Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers lineup after missing the first 47 games of the season after having surgery to repair a sports hernia and torn adductor.
The Panthers wanted him at 100 percent before returning.
Tkachuk made his long-awaited season debut but the Miami Hurricanes-Indiana Hoosiers national championship football matchup a few miles away took away a lot of the pregame hype.
Between the national title game and the Dolphins hiring a new coach, Tkachuk’s return took a back seat despite it being something fans had been waiting weeks for.
Regardless, San Jose’s decisive 4-1 win after converting three juicy rebounds into goals by Will Smith, Vincent Desjarnais, and Mario Ferraro spoiled the party.
The final goal by Barclay Goodrow was an empty netter.
The two grown men playing goalie, who decided not to play nice, were the main story line afterward.
Nevertheless, Tkachuk was back and received a huge reception from the hometown crowd.
The Sharks’ heavy hitters were not quite as welcoming.
Big Desharnais, all 6-7 of him, took a few runs at Tkachuk before the players had a chance to work up a sweat.
Tkachuk took exception to one hit, resulting in roughing penalties for both combatants in addition to Desharnais’ call for slashing.
Paul Maurice, in easing Tkachuk back to the lineup, had him on the third line with Evan Rodrigues and Mackie Samoskevich.
By the second period, with Florida down by two goals, Maurice moved him back with Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe.
It didn’t help.
Florida just couldn’t get the offense going, mustering 36 shots but getting blanked on three power plays.
Tkachuk played a respectable 20:58, had three shots on goal and six attempts, managed one hit, a blocked shot and was charged with two giveaways.
The results were not the kind of return he wanted.
The good news is he felt good.
“Personally, it was such a relief and nice to be out there. It felt better as it went along,’’ Tkachuk said.
”The first period was weird. I will say it was a little strange. Nothing mimics a game. It was weird but the second period felt a little batter and then the third was pretty much back to normal.”
As for the early hits on him, he treated it as business as usual.
“A couple of scrums early. A couple of hits. It’s good,’’ Tkachuk said. “You almost need that as a last ‘check it off’ that you’re good to go. I said it. I guess I had it coming.”
In the visiting dressing room Desharnais discussed his early confrontations with Tkachuk.
“It’s part of my game. I try to get under their guys’ skin. He’s a good player. He plays hard,’’ Desharnais said. “I was just trying to do my job. I like those kinds of battles. It’s playoff-like. There’s no better way to get back into it.”
This was Desharnais’ first game back after missing the previous 23 games due to an elbow injury. His goal, the game winner, was his first since October 29, 2023, while with Edmonton and only the third of his NHL career.
He added that he has “a little bit of history” with Florida, referring to the Stanley Cup Final of 2024 when he was with Edmonton.
“I thought he was pretty good,’’ Maurice said of Tkachuk. “His hand skills are just – he knocked some things down. I thought for the first game – I ran him close to eighteen (actually much higher) – played him a lot in the back half of that game. We need him completing some of those plays that he made. We just couldn’t do much around it.”
Right now, the Panthers have more to worry about than hockey dramatics.
They need healthy bodies back and they will have to do more roster juggling to do so.
Florida has 34 games left to make up four points for a wild card playoff spot.
It may not sound difficult, but when you have to vault over four teams in the process and you are still missing important pieces of your team, the task becomes more difficult.
“We’re chasing too many teams, we’re too many points out,’’ Tkachuk said. “It’s hard to chase and, unfortunately, we’re at the point where we’re scoreboard watching. We have enough games to take care of business, but it’s got to start now.
“You don’t want to be chasing after the Olympic break, going into the trade deadline. It’s too challenging. We got to get some points.
“All these teams around us are going runs. It is up to us to do that same.’’
ON DECK: GAME 49
FLORIDA PANTHERS AT WINNIPEG JETS
