Matthew Tkachuk returns to Panthers’ game vs Lightning after knee-on-knee collision

Florida Panthers star winger Matthew Tkachuk briefly left Monday’s 4-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning after a knee-on-knee collision late in the first period with Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov.

Tkachuk returned about two minutes into the second period to a roaring round of applause from the home crowd.

“Matthew’s got a great emotional feel for the game, about what needs to happen next,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “He just knew we needed him back. He wasn’t at 100 percent obviously, [but] I’ve seen him play with a broken collarbone. He tried to figure out a way tonight, and we appreciate that about him.”

But in the moment, the play looked like it could have been so much worse than it turned out to be.

With just over three minutes left in the first period, Kucherov went into Tkachuk at full speed in Florida’s offensive zone. Tkachuk sprawled down to the ice and immediately called for a trainer, who along with defenseman Nate Schmidt helped Tkachuk off the ice. Tkachuk went straight to the dressing room and wasn’t able to put any weight on his right leg.

Kucherov was assessed a five-minute major for kneeing and a game misconduct on the play.

“It all happened so quick,” Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said.

Tkachuk’s return was also quick. He was back on the ice 2:19 into the second period and ultimately managed to log more than 11 minutes of ice time over 14 shifts — nine of which came after the collision — in the game.

“That’s who he is,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. “He’s incredible, he’s not going down easily. You can count on him. He’s going to come back no matter what. He’s a true, true warrior. He battles through a lot of a lot.”

Tkachuk entered Monday second on the team with 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists) in 30 games this season.