Mon Oct 14 17:10:00 UTC 2024: ## Panthers’ Superstar Tkachuk Out for a Week with Illness
**BOSTON** – Florida Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk will be sidelined for approximately a week due to an undisclosed illness, head coach Paul Maurice announced Monday.
Tkachuk initially missed Saturday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres with the illness. While the team hasn’t released specifics about his condition, they are hopeful he will be able to return for the home game against the Minnesota Wild on October 22nd. This would mean the superstar forward will have missed five games in total.
Tkachuk’s absence comes as another blow to the defending Stanley Cup champions, as Aleksander Barkov is already out for two to three weeks with an upper-body injury.
Despite the early-season setbacks, the Panthers remain optimistic, emphasizing their “next-man-up” mentality.
“You might as well plunge yourself right into it (adversity) early because it’s going to come throughout the year,” said defenseman Nate Schmidt. “Might as well get it done with and hope this is the only thing you run into.”
The Panthers face the Boston Bruins at 1 p.m. ET today, deploying a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen in the absence of their two injured stars.
First Piper 