Matthew Tkachuk Uncertain for NHL Stanley Cup Final Game 5; Panthers HC Coy on Injury

Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk is dealing with an undisclosed ailment that could hold him out of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.

"We got two days off to assess that. Get some good rest and we'll make that decision [then]," Panthers coach Paul Maurice told reporters after Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Las Vegas Knights in Game 4, which put Florida on the brink of elimination.

Tkachuk was limited to 16:40 of ice time in Game 4 as he dealt with the injury and struggled to stay in peak form throughout.

"Obviously, you want to be out there playing. Just was able to go out there at the end and tried to make some magic happen late but ran out of time," Tkachuk said.

The Panthers trailed 3-0 on their home ice before mounting a comeback and narrowly missing out on tying the game as time expired. Tkachuk was among the scrum near the net peppering Vegas goaltender Adin Hill with shots and pokes near the net, and the two sides engaged in a brawl as the final horn sounded.

Tkachuk and Brandon Montour both earned 10-minute misconduct penalties as a result of the brawl, though those will not carry over for Game 5. The Panthers star has had an uncharacteristically quiet Stanley Cup Final, scoring just three points in four games.

In fact, Tkachuk's most notable statistic of this series has been his massive penalty minutes total. He's racked up 50 total minutes of penalties in four games, continuing a trend that saw him set a career high with 123 penalty minutes during the regular season.

The increased aggressiveness also helped spur a career-best 109 points, so it's fair for the Panthers to give him the leeway to mix it up on occasion. That said, given he was already hurt, scrapping at the end of a game when your team is facing elimination likely wasn't the best move.