Why is Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk missing game five of Stanley Cup Final

Matthew Tkachuk, the top forward for the Florida Panthers, misses Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final against the Vegas Golden Knights due to injury.

The offensively minded, rambunctiously effective Tkachuk, who is arguably the biggest star of the NHL playoffs, is thought to be dealing with a left side ailment, maybe to his shoulder. In Game 4, he was only sparingly used, and his right hand was primarily used to control his stick.

Tkachuk didn’t take many shots during warm-ups, which limited his participation. Although Tkachuk played a vital part in the Panthers’ comeback in that specific game, the injury is thought to have been caused by a strong hit delivered by Keegan Kolesar in Game 3.

Forward Tkachuk, Florida’s top scorer in the postseason, will be replaced by Grigori Denisenko as the Panthers attempt to start their road back to contention with the Stanley Cup in the building.

Florida coach Paul Maurice earlier in the day informed reporters he had made up his mind regarding whether or not Tkachuk would play, but he didn’t want to reveal it.

Tkachuk has the most goals (11) and points (24), leading the Panthers. With four game-winning goals in the playoffs, three of which were scored in overtime, he has been their most useful forward.

Tkachuk’s ice time in the Panthers’ defeat in Game 4 was only 16 minutes, 40 seconds. Despite managing four shots on target, it was obvious that he was struggling with what seemed to be an upper-body injury. He only skated four shifts in the third frame.

While he was released from the concussion protocol following a Game 3 hit from Vegas forward Keegan Kolesar, his hard fall to the ice following that hit may have had an impact elsewhere.

Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said Tkachuk’s absence would be felt in a must-win game.

“He’s a top player in this league,” Barkov said. “He’s a huge player for our team. No matter what, I think everyone has to step up a little bit and play a little better than we’ve been.”