Panthers coach Paul Maurice coy on plan for Matthew Tkachuk - ESPN

SUNRISE, Florida — The Florida Panthers face elimination in their Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights and are grappling with uncertainty on what lineup will be available to keep their Cup hopes alive.

Florida fell to the Golden Knights 3-2 in Game 4 on Saturday and now faces a 3-1 deficit. Vegas can earn its first championship in franchise history with a victory (at home) in Game 5 on Tuesday.

Saturday's tilt was particularly costly for the Panthers, injurywise. Florida's scoring leader, Matthew Tkachuk (11 goals, 13 points), was limited to just 16 minutes, 40 seconds of ice time — his lowest of the postseason — due to an undisclosed ailment.

Florida coach Paul Maurice didn't provide a postgame update on Tkachuk and had nothing further to share Sunday. What Maurice did share was the Panthers' plan to maximize whatever Tkachuk could offer Florida when the puck drops on Tuesday.

«It's just situational right?» Maurice said. «There are players that will play just power play. There are guys that will stay on for offensive zone draws. There's different styles of center and winger that you can play with to kind of put them in a position to be good at what they can be good at.»

Maurice revealed the plan for Sunday was for injured guys — including Anthony Duclair, who left Game 4 with an undisclosed issue — to rehab before meeting the rest of the team at the airport. Further status updates were expected to come on Monday.

The Cup Final schedule does give Florida some breathing room to rest and regroup. Having two days off between games can go a long way in helping injured players recuperate, but Maurice said down time is actually critical for the Panthers' healthy skaters.

«It's more important to get rest