Matthew Tkachuk 'feeling better' after 4 Nations Face-Off injury, wants redemption
Team USA star Matthew Tkachuk, who missed the end of Canada's 4 Nations Final overtime win with an injury, said he is "feeling better" and likes the team's chances for redemption at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
There has been concern about how long Tkachuk might miss with the injury as his Florida Panthers finish the season and prepare for their Stanley Cup defense. He told Jimmy Fallon during an appearance Monday night on "The Tonight Show" that he was better and "just recovering right now."
The Panthers haven't issued an official prognosis on Tkachuk's status. He's missing Thursday's Stanley Cup Final rematch with the Edmonton Oilers, the third consecutive game he has sat out.
"He's out near-term, we know that," coach Paul Maurice said Thursday. "We're just making sure we get as many different ideas on treatment plans and things like that. I'll give the update when I get the final update on what we're doing."
Tkachuk and brother Brady played a big role in the tournament. Both scored twice in the opener against Finland and opened the first Canada game with a fight — part of three fights in nine seconds.
"I think myself and all the guys that were in this were so jacked up for it and I think that's why you saw all the fights at the beginning of that game against Canada," Matthew Tkachuk said. "I think guys wanted to get our anger out of the way."
But his time was limited after that because of a lower-body injury that kept him on the bench at the end of the Canada game, caused him to miss the Sweden game, and kept him out of the final after the middle of the second period.
Tkachuk said he enjoyed playing on the same team as his brother for the first time. He did note they played together in the All-Star Game, "but that's fake."
"We grew up always competing against each other and dreaming eventually one day — he plays in Ottawa, I'm in Florida so we knew it was going to be tough in the regular season — but we always had the dream of playing with each other and it finally came true," Tkachuk said.
The Tkachuks will get a chance again in the 2026 Olympics, which features more teams than the U.S., Canada, Finland, and Sweden. Matthew Tkachuk noted that all the teams will be star-studded but he likes Team USA's chances.
"We got so close with this tournament and looking at next year being kind of our chance at redemption, I truly believe in our chances," he said. "Wearing the USA crest, there is nothing like it. We have so much pride in it and we'll be ready to go."