Paul Maurice Has Update on Matthew Tkachuk Injury

FORT LAUDERDALE — Matthew Tkachuk will remain out of the Florida Panthers lineup after sustaining a lower-body injury at the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off earlier this month.

Coach Paul Maurice said that Tkachuk is out “near term,’’ and would not play tonight in the Stanley Cup Final rematch against the Edmonton Oilers, nor against the Calgary Flames — his former team — on Saturday.

“We don’t need to hurry right now because he is not playing on the weekend,’’ Maurice said.

“We’re not jamming him back into the game. We’re just going to make sure we see as many people as we need to see and get a really good handle on how it wants to be.”

Maurice said he still does not have much of a timeline on a potential Tkachuk return from injury.

Tkachuk, Maurice said, continues to be evaluated by medical staff.

“We’re just making sure we get as many ideas on treatment and things like that,’’ Maurice said. “I’ll give you the update when I get the final update of what we’re doing.”

Florida will have Eetu Luostarinen back in the lineup tonight after he and his wife welcomed their first child — a girl — earlier this week.

Justin Sourdif was returned to AHL Charlotte on Wednesday after scoring his first NHL goal in Tuesday’s 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators.