SUNRISE, Fla. – Matthew Tkachuk is the Florida Panthers, and the Florida Panthers are Matthew Tkachuk.
Not only is the spunky, scrappy, last-minute-scoring, overtime-delivering Hart Trophy finalist the heartbeat of an 8-seed hockey team that has blended clutch with punch during their odds-defying run to the Stanley Cup Final.
But he is also hobbled and hurting.
He is pushing through pain.
He is running out of gas and magic and appears to, finally, be staring at a mountain too steep to climb: winning three straight, including two on the road, against a deep and determined Vegas Golden Knights squad dead-set on finishing the job.
Not that Tkachuk — or any Panther, for that matter — will give you that Saturday night, following Game 4’s 3-2 loss at FLA Live Arena.
Why would he? You don’t come this far to surrender.
“Just go out there, win one game, and force them to come back to Florida. That’s pretty much the message in this room. Same thing with Boston: We just wanted to get back to Florida then and we’re going to do the same thing now,” Tkachuk said postgame, before walking gingerly back for treatment.
The difference between rallying from a 3-1 series deficit against the Bruins and repeating the improbable now is Florida is playing, at best, with half a Tkachuk, whose status for Game 5 was left up in the air.
The star winger was able to hop the boards for just four shifts in third period, but was saved for one final 6-on-5 (then 6-on-4) push of desperation.
Tkachuk is dealing with a suspected arm injury after getting trucked in open ice by Keegan Kolesar in Game 3. Though he certainly won’t discuss the injury until the Stanley Cup is awarded, potentially as soon as Tuesday night on the Strip.
“Matthew’s been a grinder his whole life, and he was again tonight,” coach Paul Maurice said.
“We were just looking and hoping to get into a situation where he could use what he had to give us and hopefully get on the power play a little earlier, I guess, than certainly at the end of the game.”
The Panthers’ laundry list of injuries will be kept secret, but their list of shortcomings when matched against the Golden Knights is growing evident as the series stretches.
The Cats spent the first two games running around, often out of position, committing too many reckless penalties and attempting in vain to intimidate a poised and veteran opponent. And Sergei Bobrovsky looked human for the first time in a month.
So while the Panthers skated much more disciplined at home, and Goalie Bob has bounced back into form, their anemic power-play is still searching for its first goal of the series (0-for-13) and they’re forever busy playing catchup.
On aggregate, Vegas is outscoring Florida 17-9 over four games.
“They keep scoring more goals than we do,” Maurice said.
Sure, Maurice’s underdogs are a perfect 7-0 in overtime, but constantly clawing back is an exhausting way to win.
On Saturday, the first wound was self-inflicted. A brutal and casual line change by defenceman Aaron Ekblad before the puck crossed centre allowed Zach Whitecloud to find a streaking Chandler Stephenson for a clean lane, hushing the crowd just 99 seconds into the event.
“It’s silly plays,” Brandon Montour said. “That first one, obviously a breakaway I don’t think needed to happen.”
Vegas can beat Florida at its own game (Adin Hill besting Bobrovsky, the Knights forecheck is taking a toll on the Panthers’ defenders) while remaining sturdy in its own strategy.
The Knights’ long defence corps and buzzing forwards blocked a combined 61 shots in games 3 and 4.
“Yeah, it’s part of that structure. We played a team very similar in their defence in the Boston series. The shot blocking was something that they’re very, very good at,” Maurice said. “Getting the thing through to the net has been a challenge for us.”
And there is no way Florida can match Vegas’s depth.
Consider, the Knights’ third defence pairing of Zach Whitecloud and Nicolas Hague were in on all three goals. Both were plus-3 on the evening.
Even with Aleksander Barkov throwing down his best 60 minutes of the series, Tkachuk giving everything he has left, and Bobrovsky keeping them alive with clutch saves on Grade-A looks, the Panthers still couldn’t complete the rally and tie it up with Alex Pietrangelo (puck over glass) in the box for the final 17 seconds.
“Two more seconds there, you never know,” Tkachuk said. “Just was able to go out there at the end and tried to make some magic happen late — but ran out of time.”
Down to their ninth life, the Cats will cling hard to their first-round heroics.
“We revisit all of the adversity that we faced. Injured players, and Barkov and [Sam] Bennett out of our lineup and found a way at a critical time to make the playoffs,” Maurice said.
“We’ll tell stories over the next two days for sure, reminders of the energy level we brought into Game 5 in Boston, and we’ll celebrate it. We’ll celebrate before the puck drops.”
They better. Because it’s becoming ever clearer who will be celebrating when the buzzer sounds.
“The longer games go against all these teams, all the pressure starts to shift to them,” said Tkachuk, belief intact.
“So, it’s going to Vegas, and the longer it goes, longer the game goes, the longer the series goes, all the pressure goes to them.”
Fox’s Fast 5
• Maurice made a major line tweak mid-game, taking Aleksander Barkov off a line with Anthony Duclair and Nick Cousins and instead having his best centre flanked by Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell.
That newly formed unit produced two goals and gave the Cats some comeback hope.
“You love to see those guys elevate their game for their teammates. Big goal to get us back into a fighting chance,” said Maurice, also a big fan of Lundell’s effort.
“Like eight or nine guys, I don’t think he can give you any more… in terms of elevating their play at a tough time down three, to find the energy and the reserve to drive as hard as they did. So, I love these guys. There’s just no quit in them. I thought that line with Lundell and Reinhart, they got together with Barkov, they were a threat every time they were on the ice.”
• With his two-assist effort, Mark Stone has registered a point in every game of this Cup Final (2-4–6). He and Conn Smythe contender Jonathan Marchessault (4-3–7) are the only players to have done so.
• Water under the bridge…
After the performative act was complete, Brooks Koepka switched sweaters and threw on a Ryan Lomberg throwback. He and Lomberg are buddies.
• Music aficionado Jack Eichel explains the origin of the Knights’ post-win Elvis wig tradition:
“Pretty easy process. Just Amazon. I thought it was a cool thing. We talked about it between the guys at the beginning of the year, what our ideas were for having something for the team to give out postgame. Elvis is a pretty good representative of Vegas. I don’t know. I thought it just went well. It’s always cool if you have something to wear. I think it fit our group.”
• Charles Barkley hung out with Phil Kessel Friday night, and what I wouldn’t give to hear that conversation.
Also: No wonder Chuck picked the Panthers to win Game 4…
