Just when things were starting to look up for the Florida Panthers as they head into their playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, it seems that Tampa was struck with an untimely blow. Though all this time focus has been on Florida and whether they’ll be able to hold their own against Tampa for the fourth time in a playoff series in five years, especially considering Matthew Tkachuk’s upper body injury and Aaron Ekblad’s twenty-game suspension (2 games into the series included), it now seems that Tampa is going to have to figure out how to structure their game without star forward Oliver Bjorkstrand!

We knew the battle of Florida was going to get intense regardless, but Bjorkstrand’s injury update certainly adds more fuel to the fire. Bjorkstrand, who was acquired by Tampa from the Kraken in early March, suffered a lower body injury in April in a game against the Red Wings. Though he had been on a week-to-week observation since then, Tampa coach Jon Cooper announced on Saturday that he will have to miss the entire series against Florida!

The loss of Bjorkstrand will put Tampa and their formation in a funny position, considering he played such a big part in their secondary scoring, adding five goals and 9 points in his 18 games with the Lightning. Adding to that, over the course of his NHL career spanning ten years, Bjorkstrand managed to bag 20 goals in six seasons and has a glowing postseason record, with 10 goals and 20 points in 45 postseason games. And considering the Lightning shifted to a 9-5-4 power play formation with him in the lineup, things may have to be seriously reconsidered in the time between now and Tuesday’s big game.

Especially considering, not that far away, the Panthers have been practicing with Matthew Tkachuk, who is looking to make a big comeback after his lower body injury on February 8th. The looming question now is, can this turn of events completely turn the outcome of the series?

With Matthew Tkachuk nearing a return, how are the Panthers shaping up in light of Bjorkstrand’s injury?

Considering Game 1 is set in the Amalie Arena, the Lightning will enjoy a home ice advantage for a majority of this series against Florida. Additionally, Tampa’s goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has a playoff reputation that is, to put it mildly, awe-inspiring; however, when stacked up against Sergei Bobrovsky, things get a little bit more interesting. When looking at their head-to-head playoff matches over their careers, Vasilevskiy has a higher save percentage, while Bobrovsky has more wins! Which just goes to show, there’s no ‘I’ in teamwork, or something along those lines. Which brings us to the elephant in the room, i.e., Matthew Tkachuk. 

Ever since that injury in the Four Nations Face-Off, Paul Maurice made a stern decision to keep Tkachuk out of more danger and ready him for the playoffs, and this might be when it pays off. Considering Bjorkstrand’s absence will completely shake up Tampa’s lineup, Tkachuk coming back and finding his rhythm with the synergy that is developing between Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand might just make for some really fantastic hockey!

However, NBA legend, hockey super fan, and incidental or coincidental friend of Jon Cooper, Charles Barkley seems to think there is an ‘I’ in teamwork and places his bets back on the goalie. “You know what? I’m going with the hot goalie. My man, [Andrei] Vasilevskiy. I’m going with him.” Barkley said he was going back on his prior praise for Tkachuk during the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals. Who knows, maybe with Oliver Bjorkstrand gone, Vasilevskiy will up his game even further.

Either way, Tuesday definitely isn’t looking grey this week!