Matthew Tkachuk Has Clutch Gene For Panthers

The Florida Panthers took Game 2 by a score of 2-1. Florida now leads the Eastern Conference Final series 2-0 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Tkachuk has a flair for the dramatic as he now has scored back-to-back game-winning overtime goals for the Florida Panthers. Both times he scored the winner and headed right down the tunnel to celebrate.

And that is what Matthew Tkachuk so much fun to watch. Because there is nobody else in the NHL who would score overtime winners in the playoffs and celebrate like this. Tkachuk points right at the attendant manning the exit door and lead his team right off the ice.

He was asked by the TNT panel what he said to his teammates going off the ice besides “let’s go”. Tkachuk had a unique response.

Tkachuk replied, “the old ‘bus in 10 [minutes]’ celebration” after his Game 2 winner.

“Let’s get out of here. It’s been a lot of hockey the last two games,” he went on to say.

It has definitely been a lot of hockey for Tkachuk and the Panthers down in Raleigh. Four overtimes in Game 1, but this time Game 2 did not last as long. Tkachuk scored a minute and 51 seconds into the extra session. Tkachuk sprinted down the tunnel to celebrate with his team before the Hurricanes were off the ice.

There is a reason general manager Bill Zito traded for this player. He continuously gets it done in the playoffs. Was it a tough decision to trade a 100-point score in Jonathan Huberdeau along with MacKenzie Weegar for Tkachuk? Absolutely. But tough decisions have to be made in the sport of hockey. And Tkachuk has given the Panthers an edge to their game that was missing from last year.

“He’s been everything, and even more, than what we had expected,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said after Game 2.

Not to mention, Tkachuk is a 100-point scorer in the NHL as well and now has posted back-to-back 100-point seasons with two different teams. He has put the Panthers on his back. And the team is following his lead.

“He’s an exceptional guy and even over the course of the year, he’s kind of matured,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said of Tkachuk and what he means to the team. “He wasn’t immature. But he’s just grown into that leadership role and he’s one of those guys that can touch everybody in the room, whether it’s the fourth-line guy or the extra guy. He plays a gritty game. He also plays a very highly skilled game so he can connect with everybody in the room.”

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And you can see that when he does not cross a line in the playoffs, his offensive ability is on display. Unlike last year, with the Calgary Flames, when Tkachuk played with too much of an edge against the Edmonton Oilers and cost his team the series.

Playing with a familiar face like Sam Bennett in the playoffs, who is an agitator himself, also helps. Bennett plays just as physically as Tkachuk, but Bennett’s play has opened up Tkachuk’s offensive ability even more because he does not always have to be the agitator out there. Bennett has picked assists on both of Tkachuk’s game-winning goals in the series. 

The Panthers are 6-0 in overtime games in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs and Tkachuk has three overtime goals game-winners. He is now the Panthers franchise leader in the playoffs with 18 points (seven goals and 11 assists) in 14 games. With his seven goals this playoff season, Tkachuk has now tied his career playoff goal total in Calgary. 

Tkachuk has an edge like a fourth-line player with the skill of a first-line player. And that is what makes him so special. But what makes him so special is that once the Stanley Cup Playoffs come around his game goes to an even higher level.

This season has been easy for the Panthers. But Florida has been playoff hockey since January and carried that momentum into the playoffs. Having Matthew’s father Keith Tkachuk called the team “soft” and Paul Maurice going off on his team in Toronto also helps.

But the “Cardiac Cats” never go away. From being down 3-1 to Boston and winning in seven games, Tkachuk’s Game 5 OT winner kept their season alive. To Florida continuously playing their style regardless if Tkachuk is in the action or not, gives them that special feel.

While Tkachuk was quiet offensively against Toronto in Round 2, he is making up for it to start the Eastern Conference Final.

If Florida goes to the Stanley Cup Final, Matthew Tkachuk no doubt will be Conn Smythe Trophy favorite.