Matthew Tkachuk’s status unclear ahead of possible elimination Game 5

SUNRISE — Words can barely describe Matthew Tkachuk’s impact on the Florida Panthers.

From a newbie sent in a monstrous trade from Calgary to South Florida, he’s quickly won over a fanbase for his knack of clutch goal-scoring and his lack of  hesitancy to pushback and scrap in the dirty areas.

That’s why everyone’s minds swirled in the third period of the Panthers’ 3-2 loss in Game 4 Saturday night. Tkachuk was on the bench, but inexplicably didn’t play for half of the period.

Now, it’s uncertain if he’s good to go for Game 5.

“Well, we got two days off to assess that,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said after the loss. “We’ll get some good rest and make that decision then.”

Tkachuk played 15 shifts through the first two periods Saturday night, just in between the 13 and 16 he played in the first two periods of Games 1 and 2. Then, in the third period of Game 4, Tkachuk played two shifts in the first four minutes, but didn’t go back on the ice until 5:01 remained in the game — 10 minutes and 41 seconds after his last shift.

He totaled 16:40 of ice time (second lowest of the series, only ahead of Game 2 when he was assessed two 10-minute misconducts) and was still able to rattle off four shots on goal and, according to moneypuck.com, led the Panthers in expected goals.

The strange part is he didn’t go to the Panthers’ dressing room or appear to be checked out by trainers while on the bench. He sat there with his team, at one point hopping the bench to take a quick skate during a timeout.

“Obviously I want to be out there playing,” Tkachuk said. “But yeah, (I) was able to go out there at the end and try to make some magic happen late, but ran out of time.”

Was it a matter of pain tolerance?

“I don’t know,” Tkachuk answered. “I don’t even really know how to answer that really.”

What’s it going to take for him to sit out Game 5?

“I don’t know,” Tkachuk said. “It’s a tough question. I don’t even know how to…I don’t really want to talk about that right now.”

Of course, it’s no complete shock that Tkachuk and Maurice are mute about his status, especially with the stakes as high as they are. They have no obligation to dive into any details of what Tkachuk may be battling.

But at the same time, if he was 100% healthy and a lock to play in Game 5, one of the two of them probably would’ve said so.

“Well, Matthew’s been a grinder his whole life and he was again tonight,” Maurice said. “We were just looking, hoping to get into a situation where he could use what he had to give us.”

Tkachuk, who has 24 points in 20 playoff games, left Game 3 after taking a hit up high in open ice from Vegas winger Keegan Kolesar early in the first period. He played one power play shift after the hit, but then was pulled off the ice and sent into the NHL’s concussion protocol. He later returned four and a half minutes into the second period, before scoring the game-tying goal with 2:13 left in regulation.

However, Tkachuk refused to answer whether that hit is related to what he combatted in Game 4 .

“That’s just not going to come out right now,” he said.

The good news is that Florida didn’t look completely deflated without Tkachuk on the ice Saturday night.

Maurice threw the forward lines in a blender when the Panthers trailed 3-1 at the second intermission. Aleksander Barkov centered Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart, and scored to make it a 3-2 game early in the third period. The Panthers also outshot the Golden Knights 12-8 in the period and applied a heavy dose of pressure on Vegas goaltender Adin Hill.

“The guys that were going out there were doing an unreal job and I had the best seat in the house there for most of it, so just trying to encourage the guys and keep them going,” Tkachuk said.

But that amount of buzz likely won’t be sustainable if the Panthers are without Tkachuk in Game 5. Not in the raucous T-Mobile Arena with Vegas one win away from its first championship in franchise history.

Reading between the lines probably won’t be much of a help. It could be a positive sign that he was even made available to the media after the game.

But for now, there is no sure answer. And it could be the last chance their prized trade acquisition has to lace up his skates this season.