Matthew Tkachuk drops 1-word reaction as Florida Panthers clinches playoff berth despite star forward's injury absence

The Florida Panthers have made it to the playoffs to defend their Stanley Cup title. Last year, they defeated the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the finals to win their first championship in franchise history. Now, they are back in the race to defend their title.

After the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, they clinched a playoff spot for the sixth straight season.

After qualifying, the team shared a post on Instagram and wrote:

"Chasing more. We’re heading to defend our title!"

Tkachuk reshared the post with one word:

"Soon."

Matthew Tkachuk shared an IG story (IG/Matthew Tkachuk)

Tkachuk has missed 16 games after hurting his lower body at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. He skated again this week for the first time since then. Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Tkachuk is not game-ready yet. The team hopes he will return for the first round of the playoffs.

"He was, basically, just out there touching pucks today," Maurice said, via NHL.com. "There was no conditioning component to it because we're just not there yet. He will probably just get out on the ice to move some pucks around for the next couple of days, perhaps a week or so. Then, hopefully, we will get to a point where he can start driving."

Tkachuk has 57 points in 52 games this season. He scored 22 points during last year's playoff run. His return would help the Panthers as they try to win back-to-back titles. The team has nine games left before the playoffs begin.

Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers with 78 points. Aleksander Barkov has 67 points, and Sergei Bobrovsky has five shutouts in goal.

Florida Panthers made it to the playoffs despite Saturday's loss to Senators

The Ottawa Senators defeated the Florida Panthers 3-0 on Saturday.

"There [is] a big chunk of our game that looks the way it's supposed to look," coach Paul Maurice said, via NHL.com. "I thought our gap was really good, hunt-backs were really good, we were pretty direct to their net. We made a handful of small mistakes 5-on-5, but not many to worry about. So, the game was played right."

Anton Forsberg made 40 saves for Ottawa and earned a shutout. Sergei Bobrovsky made 19 saves for Florida. The Panthers have now lost four straight games, and they have been shut out for the first time since December 18.