SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Will Smith scored in his second consecutive game after missing a month because of injury, and the San Jose Sharks spoiled Matthew Tkachuk's season debut by beating the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers 4-1 on Monday night in a game highlighted by a rare goalie fight.
Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky beelined out of his crease and all the way down the ice to take on San Jose's Alex Nedeljkovic, who had inserted himself into a scrum in the corner with 14 minutes left. Fans chanted, “Bobby! Bobby!” and cheered the netminder nicknamed “Bob” who has backstopped the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup titles.
The second meeting between the teams this season, and first since Nov. 8, got increasingly chippy with pushing and shoving after whistles and more than a few punches thrown.
Between the whistles, the Sharks also got goals from defensemen Vincent Desharnais and Mario Ferraro and 36 saves from Nedeljkovic. Barclay Goodrow sealed it with an empty-netter, and San Jose won hours after general manager Mike Grier signaled his team is going for it this season following a lengthy rebuild by acquiring winger Kiefer Sherwood in a trade with Vancouver.
Tkachuk skated just under 21 minutes and had three shots on goal in his first game since helping Florida repeat and hoisting the Cup in June. The 28-year-old winger, who was picked to play for the U.S. at the Olympics next month in Milan, underwent surgery last summer to deal with a sports hernia and torn adductor muscle.
Eetu Luostarinen scored the Panthers' goal. Bobrovsky allowed three on 27 shots, giving up several juicy rebounds that San Jose capitalized on.
Puck drop was moved up an hour to a 6 p.m. EST start after the Miami Hurricanes made the college football national title game, which was being played in their nearby home stadium.
Sharks: Wrap up their road trip Tuesday night at Tampa Bay.
Panthers: Open a three-game trip Thursday night at Winnipeg.
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FILE - San Jose Sharks center Will Smith (2) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Detroit Red Wings during the first period of an NHL hockey game Jan. 16, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson, File)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Matthew Tkachuk is back with the Florida Panthers, ready to help the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions try to return to the playoffs and start tuning up to play for USA Hockey at next month's Milan Cortina Olympics.
Tkachuk — who had surgery to repair a torn adductor and sports hernia over the summer, about two months after helping the Panthers win their second straight Stanley Cup — played Monday night against San Jose. It was his first game since hoisting the Cup in June.
“I'm feeling great. Just so excited to be back," Tkachuk said after the team's morning skate. "It was a little over five months since the surgery, so just chomping at the bit to come back, really. And, yeah, happy that the day is finally here. I wasn’t coming back until I was feeling 100%. I came back not 100% one time, and that’s only a playoff thing, so I’m happy with the whole recovery process.”
He skated just under 21 minutes and had three shots on net in a 4-1 loss to the Sharks.
“Personally, I will say it was such a relief and nice to be out there,” Tkachuk said afterward, acknowledging the first period was weird. “I felt better as it went along.”
Tkachuk had missed nearly a full year — 72 games over 11 1/2 months — of regular-season hockey; he couldn't play in the final 25 games last season after getting hurt in the 4 Nations Face-Off and has missed the first 47 games of this season.
He comes back with 35 games remaining in Florida's season and the Panthers entering Monday four points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
“He's ready to play,” said Panthers coach Paul Maurice, adding that he's not going to over-use Tkachuk right out of the gate. “We're happy to have him back, for sure.”
Florida has stayed in the race despite having Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov and Tomas Nosek yet to play this season because of injuries and a slew of other players filling the injured list. Dmitry Kulikov, Jonah Gadjovich and Cole Schwindt have all missed most of the season; of late, standouts Seth Jones and Brad Marchand — who are both set to be Olympians, Jones for the U.S. and Marchand for Canada — have missed time as well.
“It's seven, eight guys that at some point have gone down — at the same time, too, which is never easy," Tkachuk said. "They’ve done a great job staying in the fight. With that being said, we have to go on a run here. We've got to get back in a playoff spot. We’re not happy with being out of the playoffs, but they have done an amazing job of staying in the fight, so very proud of them for that.”
The Panthers went 38-30-4 in those last 72 regular-season games that Tkachuk missed, meaning they won barely more than 50% of the time. But they went 16-7 in last year's playoffs, with Tkachuk playing in all 23 of those contests.
He got what went into the record books as the Cup-clinching goal in Game 6 of last year's final series against Edmonton; Florida won that game 5-1, with Sam Reinhart scoring four goals.
“I’m here to be a hockey player," Tkachuk said. “I’m just so excited to be back and I’m not here to cheer from the sidelines. I am here to be out there competing with the guys, and I am just so excited to be doing that and just be around the guys and be in a competitive environment again. It’s not like I can just dip my toe like I have a preseason. ... I’ve told them, ‘I’m coming back, throw me in the fire.’ We need these points.”
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
CORRECTS YEAR: Florida Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk shows fans the team's 2025 Stanley Cup ring before placing it inside the display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Eduardo Lima/The Canadian Press via AP)
Florida Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk shows fans the team's 2025 Stanley Cup ring before placing it inside the display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2025. (Eduardo Lima/The Canadian Press via AP)
