Tkachuk status unclear for Panthers in Game 5 of Stanley Cup Final

LAS VEGAS --Matthew Tkachuk's status remains unclear for the Florida Panthers for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, CBC, SN, TVAS) after the forward did not practice Monday.

Forwards Nick Cousins and Eetu Luostarinen, and defensemen Brandon Montour and Radko Gudas, also did not participate in an optional practice.

"The update will be tomorrow," Florida coach Paul Maurice said. "We've been at an optional point for the last two months in terms of skating (on) off days, but you'll get all that big information tomorrow night. "Trailing 3-1 and facing elimination in the best-of-7 series, Florida would certainly miss Tkachuk if he can't play. He is tied with Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault and Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz for the NHL lead with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 20 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

But Tkachuk was limited to four shifts in the third period, sitting for a stretch of 10:41 at one point, because of an unspecified injury in a 3-2 loss in Game 4 on Saturday. Tkachuk also missed time in in the first period and start of the second period of Game 3 while being evaluated for a possible concussion following a hit from Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar, but he returned and scored the game-tying goal at 17:47 of the third in a 3-2 overtime victory.

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Montour (Game 3) and Gudas (Game 2) also missed stretches of play after suffering apparent injuries but have yet to miss a game. Luostarinen has not played since blocking a shot off his leg in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes and has not skated with the Panthers since before Game 1 of the Cup Final.

"We've played all season long with guys in and out of our lineup," Florida forward Eric Staal said. "All year, we won some key games at key times with important pieces out of our lineup, so however we look tomorrow, I know we'll have confidence in who we are and the guys that are out there. So, we're excited for a good rest tonight and being ready for Game 5."

On the bright side for the Panthers, forward Anthony Duclair practiced Monday and said he will play in Game 5 after he missed the first 8:14 of the third period of Game 4 with an undisclosed ailment.

"I'm excited for tomorrow," Duclair said. "I'm just looking forward to playing the biggest game of our season. It's obviously a big opportunity for us. Just like every other series, we're not playing the series, we're playing the game and, for us, we're just looking to get a road win."

It was notable that rookie forward Grigori Denisenko traveled here for Game 5 and practiced Monday after skating with Florida's extra players for much of the playoffs. The 22-year-old, who had three assists in 18 regular-season games, has yet to play an NHL playoff game.

Regardless, the Panthers believe they can extend the series even if all of their regular players aren't available Tuesday, or if some of them are playing through injuries.

"We've been short-handed a lot this year with big guys being out of the lineup," center Sam Bennett said. "It's just an opportunity for other guys to step and take a bigger role, be more of an impact. So, we have a bunch of guys that are ready to step up and fill roles, so that shouldn't be an issue."

Maurice noted the Panthers played games this season without Bennett and forwards Aleksander Barkov and Anton Lundell, among others, because of injuries and illness. Florida played most of Game 3 of the conference final without Barkov because of an undisclosed injury but still won 1-0.

So, if the Panthers need to play with a makeshift lineup Tuesday, they'll be ready. But Maurice wasn't willing to say Monday that will be the case.

"You've had your people out of the lineup and important people out of the lineup and you've found way to ways to be successful," Maurice said. "So, you have that belief. If none of that's happened to you all year, the first time an important guy comes out of the lineup, it's a big deal.

"But being that everybody is playing tomorrow, as of today, we don't have to worry about that."