I'm sorry, that image doesn't do Matthew Tkachuk's return to the Florida Panthers' lineup justice.
But if we're going to be real, San Jose Sharks defenceman Vincent Desharnais had the better return to action. Not only did he score a goal in his return, but he also had himself a highlight reel open-ice hit on Matthew Tkachuk. And he won a fight against Tkachuk.
Safe to say it wasn't the impact that Matthew Tkachuk had hoped to make upon his return, especially with his Florida Panthers having just thirty-four games left to claim and solidify a playoff spot.
Glazing aside, the Panthers still did get Matthew Tkachuk, who previously had not played a game all season, back from injury. That should eliminate some of the pain from the team's 4-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks.
That said, there's still work to be done. Considering that Matthew Tkachuk only just played his first game all season, it might take a little bit of time to properly acclimate him into the Florida Panthers' constantly-evolving and injury-hampered lineup. And with the Winter Olympics, where Matthew Tkachuk is set to join Team USA for the men's hockey tournament, right around the corner, there's a decent chance that Matthew Tkachuk doesn't perform like he did before until the calendar hits March.
And that's ... fine? The Florida Panthers did manage to remain in contention for a playoff spot even with their not-so-great start; despite sitting in seventh in the Atlantic Division, Florida's 53 points (stemming from a 25-20-3 record) has them just four back of the Buffalo Sabres for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. But with Buffalo on an insane winning run, Florida has to respond in kind; save for a long streak of goaltending success and everyone stepping up on the offensive side of the ice, the Panthers may need Matthew Tkachuk to work his magic once again.
The team does have a window to get Tkachuk going again. Florida has a two day break to split the week, after which the team will travel to Winnipeg, Minnesota, and Chicago to complete a three-game road trip. Their next home game takes place on January 27th against the Utah Mammoth; that gives the Panthers a week worth of practice time and road games to get Matthew Tkachuk re-familiarized with NHL action and to give him some confidence heading into two critical stretches of the season.
By the time Tkachuk gets going again, Brad Marchand, who has missed the past few games with an unknown injury, should be back in the fold. When providing his most recent injury update, head coach Paul Maurice said that Marchand is close to returning. And with Marchand recently practicing without a non-contact jersey, there's a good chance he returns before that same Utah game.
Obviously, once both Tkachuk and Marchand are back, the Panthers should eventually resemble the team that went and won two straight Stanley Cups. And if both players can perform at a high rate and drag Florida back into a playoff spot, there should be no ruling the Panthers out of yet another deep playoff run.
Most importantly, Matthew Tkachuk has to get going, and fast. Sans Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov, the Panthers sit in the middle-to-the-bottom-of-the-pack in the major offensive statistical categories. That is slightly below where they were last year, but it's clear last year's offensive package looked far better than the one fielded this year for reasons both obvious and implied.
For the Panthers, the time is now to put a big run together and get into the playoffs. Such a run might just start with the same guy who got Florida's run of success going in the first place: Matthew Tkachuk.