It has all come down to this moment. After thrilling divisional play in the NHL, the lineups for the Stanley Cup Playoffs have almost been decided. Yesterday, the Panthers went down fighting against the Tampa Bay Lightning and will face the same opponent in the Stanley Cup Playoffs first round. While the Panthers finished third in the Atlantic Division, the Lightning finished a place above them. Recently, a crazy stat went viral on social media, as the Panthers’ hopes were renewed after a tough opponent in the playoffs. Despite this, fans weren’t very confident about the Panthers’ chances against the Lightning.

Interestingly, last season, the Panthers played 54 games in which the likes of Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, and Aaron Ekblad were featured together. In those games, the Panthers were victorious in 39 of those matches while losing 15. This was a crucial factor in their success last season, something that they are looking to replicate in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Their star forward, Matthew Tkachuk, has been out with an injury for over two months. However, he is gearing up to make a comeback in the playoffs against the Lightning. If this happens, we could see the star trio reuniting again, which was a secret recipe of their success last season. Despite this, the Panthers fans caught a worried look on social media.

Will history repeat for the Panthers and Matthew Tkachuk?

While Tkachuk is out of action due to injury, Aaron Ekblad is nearing the end of his 20-game suspension for violating the NHL and NHL Players’ Association’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs last month. As a result, the trio haven’t played together for a long time, and this led to doubts among the Panthers fans if they could repeat their feat this year as well. A fan wrote, “I am still worried they are not going to put it all together in time for the series.” Although reports indicated that they would feature in the playoffs together, the fan doubted if that could happen.

Meanwhile, another Twitter user doubted the physical condition of the three Panthers stars, who have had great success playing together. “Good but none of those guys seem to stay healthy,” cited a fan, who was unsure of them playing together, let alone winning. On the other hand, one of the fans felt that their record playing together was a thing of the past. Reasoning out why it was irrelevant in today’s time, the fan revealed, “These guys have played 0 mins with each other last month or 2. They aren’t gonna win sadly.” While one was suspended and the other played regularly, Tkachuk was injured and missed out on the action over the last couple of months.

Nonetheless, a section of fans was hopeful about the Panthers putting on an improved show if the three were featured together. “Lock in boys, we are on a quest to 16 wins,” a fan roared, with dreams of defending the Stanley Cup very much alive. Lastly, one fan cited where the Panthers needed the most improvement ahead of the playoffs. The fan wrote, “They better shore up that defense.” The Panthers have conceded as many as 10 goals in the last two games, and their defense continues to remain a worry.

The playoffs are scheduled to begin this weekend, and Matthew Tkachuk faces a race against time to get back in shape for action. Can the trio of Tkachuk, Ekblad, and Barkov inspire the Panthers to a famous win? Let us know your views in the comments below.