FORT LAUDERDALE — The Florida Panthers know it is going to be hard to replace Matthew Tkachuk.
Players like him are, in more ways than one, irreplaceable.
“There’s no one else in the world like Matthew,’’ captain Sasha Barkov said. “You can’t really replace that kind of a player or person. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious. He’s a huge, huge part of what we do here. … He’s one of a kind.”
Time marches on.
Games need to be played.
However long Tkachuk is out of the Florida lineup — and he told Jimmy Fallon Monday that he was “feeling better” — the Panthers have to keep moving forward.
So, how do they do that?
Right now, the plan is to keep going with what has worked.
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Mackie Samoskevich will remain on the left side of Sam Bennett, with Evan Rodrigues taking Tkachuk’s spot on the right.
“I think everyone is going to step up,” Rodrigues said Monday afternoon. “He’s a big part of our team, but we have depth and we have a good group that’s going to continue to fight. He’s a big piece to the puzzle, but guys are going to get new roles and we’re going to keep chugging along. We’ll be OK. Maybe we need to be a little grittier, a little more tenaious. But we play a team game anyway.’’
That line looked strong in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the Kraken; a controversial challenge of Samoskevich’s second-period goal for Rodrigues’ interference on goalie Joey Daccord changed the game.
Florida would have had a 2-1 lead in a game they were starting to take over.
“We were going pretty good there,” Paul Maurice said on Saturday night. “But rules are rules.”
Bennett, Samoskevich, and Rodrigues ended the night with six of Florida’s 27 shots on goal with 12 shot attempts.
Rodrigues says he really likes the way his new line looks.
He is not alone.
“We have a lot of speed,’’ Rodrigues said. “We had our chances, just needed to put it in the back of the net. We get on top of pucks, we have good speed so we need to stay together. There is no reason for us to spread things out because we’re all fast enough to beat our guy, the D, the back-checker up the ice. If we stay close, get sticks on the puck, and win battles, that will be huge for us.’’
Maurice said Monday that Tkachuk is going to return to the Florida lineup before the season ends.
Whether that is before the playoffs start or for Game 1 is still unknown.
Tkachuk, who has 22 goals and 57 points in 52 games with goals in his past six, remains on the active roster.
He can be added to Injured Reserve — or Long-Term Injured Reserve — at any point after he was hurt playing for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
If Tkachuk were on LTIR, that would give the Panthers some roster flexibility and help them at the trade deadline on March 7.
Again, you don’t replace a player like Tkachuk.
But the Panthers should be fine in the meantime.
“You learn the most from the tough times, when you have to survive those type of moments when the game isn’t going your way, or you are missing big parts of your team,” Barkov said.
“You learn how to play in those situations, in those moments, and learn how to win in them and that makes your team even stronger. Any adversity we have to face, we will.”
ON DECK: GAME No. 59
FLORIDA PANTHERS at NASHVILLE PREDATORS