The Florida Panthers will try to keep their Stanley Cup hopes alive without Matthew Tkachuk in Tuesday's Game 5 showdown against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Grigori Denisenko slotted into the lineup in the injured Conn Smythe Trophy candidate's absence. Denisenko, 22, registered three assists in 18 regular-season games this campaign and has never seen action in the playoffs.

Here's how the Panthers looked during warmups:

Tkachuk was limited to just four shifts in the third period of Game 4 on Saturday. At one point, he went almost 11 minutes without touching the ice.

Maurice told reporters after the contest that Tkachuk had to grind through the 3-2 defeat, and the team opted to play him less in the final frame to conserve his energy.

Tkachuk was removed from action by the league's concussion spotter in Game 3 after taking a big hit from Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar. He returned to the matchup after clearing protocol and eventually scored the game-tying goal en route to the Panthers' overtime victory.

The superstar didn't practice with the Panthers on Monday.

Tkachuk leads Florida with 11 goals and 24 points in 20 playoff contests.

Vegas holds a 3-1 series lead.

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