Matthew Tkachuk had two power-play goals and an assist in his first game after a two-month absence and the Florida Panthers opened defense of their Stanley Cup title with a 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night in the first game of the teams' first-round playoff series.

Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk has been sidelined since the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in February. He missed Florida’s final 25 games of the regular season. But the star of the Panthers’ Stanley Cup title run last year returned to the ice Tuesday nightand wasted no time getting back into the action,