FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Nobody has had a more successful three seasons than Florida Panthers star winger Matthew Tkachuk.

Back-to-back Stanley Cups, trips to Fort Lauderdale’s Elbo Room and the Miami nightclub E11EVEN, and now an Olympic gold medal for Team USA.

As the Panthers continue their fight for a three-peat, their first goal is to reach the playoffs.

To do that, Tkachuk will need to be a big part of the plan.

“We have to flip the switch,” Tkachuk told reporters Thursday after the morning skate.

He isn’t wrong.

With 25 games remaining in the 2025-26 season, the Panthers sit eight points out of the final Eastern Conference Wild Card spot.

There is, however, some good news.

Tkachuk, who didn’t make his season debut until Jan. 19, is healthy and will play Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. ET, the first of consecutive home games for Florida.

Panthers head coach Paul Maurice confirmed that all injured players, aside from captain Aleksander Barkov, who suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee in September, will travel on the team’s upcoming road trip and could potentially return to play.

That means the team could see defenseman Dmitry Kulikov for the first time since Oct. 9, forward Tomáš Nosek for the first time this season, forward Jonah Gadjovich for the first time since Oct. 25, and defenseman Seth Jones for the first time since suffering an injury in the Winter Classic on Jan. 2.

“You’re in that playoff mindset,” Maurice said. “Every game is the only game that you’re going to play.”

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