With Florida set for ‘another great showdown’ with Carolina, Tkachuk insists he feels ‘great’
Matthew Tkachuk had his fair share of big moments the last time the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes met in the Eastern Conference final.
The Panthers’ star winger, wrapping up his first season with his new team after the blockbuster trade a summer earlier sent him to Florida from the Calgary Flames, put up a Herculean effort in the series — a four-game Panthers sweep — on the way to reaching the Stanley Cup Final.
Five points, four goals, three game-winning goals — one in quadruple overtime in Game 1, one in overtime in Game 2 and one in the final five seconds of regulation in the series-clinching Game 4, plus the primary assist on the game-winning goal in Game 3 for good measure.
“I remember being really tired after the first one,’’ Tkachuk said Monday. “The way I scored, and looked, the first thing I saw was the door. So I left. In Game 2, the way I was going, the door was right there. It was just ‘let’s get out of here.’ We kind of stole Game 2. We played well, but, let’s get out of here fast.’’
Two years later, the rematch is here, and Tkachuk and the Panthers know just what type of challenge they’re going to be facing in the Hurricanes.
“I don’t think anybody really enjoys playing Carolina,” Tkachuk said. “Very tough team to play against, and they make it hard on you every game. There were good memories here in this building a couple years ago, and that whole series for us. But it’s all back to zeros now. It’s a new year, new series. ... It’s going to make for another great showdown.”
Tkachuk hasn’t had as many of those big moments this postseason. He’s been battling through an apparent groin injury he sustained during the 4 Nations Face-Off in mid-February. He has nine points through Florida’s first two rounds, but hasn’t scored a goal since Game 3 of the opening round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“I honestly feel great,” Tkachuk said. “I’m expecting to just continue to get better. The longer this goes, the better you feel. So hopefully we keep this going for a while.”
Panthers coach Paul Maurice limited Tkachuk early in the postseason as he returned to game action after a more than a two-month layoff.
But in the second-round series against Toronto, Tkachuk was on the ice for an average of 18:40 per game — slightly above his season average of 18:14. He had four assists in the seven-game series and held his own defensively. According to the advanced hockey statistics website Natural Stat Trick, the Panthers controlled 66.32% of shot attempts and had a 49-30 edge in scoring chances despite being outscored 5-4 when Tkachuk was on the ice at 5-on-5.
His penchant physicality and grit was on full display, too, with 22 hits and and being aggressive in front of the net to set up his teammates to make plays.
“He brings a lot to the table, even when he’s not scoring or getting points,” Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “He’s being physical. He’s a bench presence. He’s a little thorn in the other team’s side. So we appreciate everything he does.”
Added Maurice: “I thought he was considerably behind it in the Tampa series. I mean, I played him 12 minutes the first night, and a lot of that was power play. And then he just kind of built and built, and now it’s back up close to 20 and I don’t think about it. He’s back. ... We don’t talk about his minutes. So he’s had a really big impact.”
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