Stanley Cup Finals: Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk miraculously returns to ice after taking BRUTAL hit

Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk returned to Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Thursday night to score the tying goal with two minutes remaining in the third period after a scary first-period hit by Vegas Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar.

Kolesar delivered an open ice hit six minutes into Game 3 off Tkachuk, which Florida won 3–2 in overtime.

Tkachuk stumbled as he tried to get up and skate to the bench. He talked to a trainer on the bench before getting back on the ice for the start of a Florida power play. Tkachuk went into the tunnel not long after, missed the rest of the first period, and didn’t return right away after the break.

Tkachuk rejoined his teammates on the bench a few minutes after the second minute. When he stepped back on the ice for his first shift since leaving, the fans cheered and chanted, “Chucky! Chuckie!’ It wasn’t immediately clear if his absence was because one of the NHL’s concussion potters pulled Tkachuk, or if the 25-year-old was unwell.

In any case, Tkachuk tied the game with two minutes left in the third inning after Florida pulled out just short of Sergei Bobrovsky for the man advantage. Carter Verhaeghe eventually scored the winner of the game in extra time.

Keegan Kolesar of the Vegas Golden Knights meets Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers

After being named a finalist for the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP during the regular season, Tkachuk has been Florida’s top skater on his improbable run of being the last team to qualify for the playoffs and the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference to the Finals.

He had the first assist on Brandon Montour’s goal that opened the scoring with 4:08 in.

That was only Tkachuk’s second point in the series, short of his three misconducts.

With Tkachuk unavailable, Florida gave up an tying run on a Vegas power play with 3:57 left in the first. The Golden Knights lead the best-of-seven series 2-1 heading into Saturday’s Game 4.

Tkachuk was on the other side of a big hit in Game 2, as he tied Vegas star Jack Eichel.

Tkachuk was on the other side of a big hit in Game 2, as he tied Vegas star Jack Eichel

Eichel quickly skated off and retreated to the locker room, scaring the Vegas Golden Knights for more than a few moments late in the second period of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Instead of his night being over, Eichel returned for the third period and netted the fifth goal of seven in a loss of the Florida Panthers that put Vegas 2-0 in the best-of-seven series and two wins away of a championship. .

The hit that was debated in the hockey world was soon deemed clean by all involved, and Eichel’s return to play another major role in this playoff run was just one more example of a team mantra that “it hurts to to win’.

Players, after checking in with Eichel during intermission to make sure he was okay, repeated that phrase over and over.