The Florida Panthers are riding a wave in 2024. They sit second in the Atlantic Division with a 26-12-2 record and 54 points, just two points behind the Boston Bruins for first place, and they will look to extend their winning streak to nine games against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.
A big factor in their longest winning streak of the season has been forward Matthew Tkachuk. Earlier in the season, he did find the back of the net as he was projected to after his dominant performance last season with 109 points (40 goals, 69 assists). Before the game against the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 2, he only had five goals in the 2023-24 campaign. Now, he’s starting to heat up, which could spell big trouble for the rest of the league.
Tkachuk Is Streaking
Tkachuk has scored at least a goal in each of his last four games, including a natural hat trick on Jan. 9 against the St. Louis Blues, the fifth hat trick of his career.
Over this eight-game winning streak, he has six goals and 11 assists. In addition, he is currently on a six-game point streak with six goals and nine assists in that span. If he continues, he’s going to be a problem for the NHL.
Tkachuk: Better Late Than Never
At the same time last season, Tkachuk was performing at a much higher rate. Through 39 games, he had 22 goals and 29 assists. Granted, this was before he was injured with a broken sternum just before Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
But, this drop-off in his production was unexpected. Nevertheless, it’s better to see him find the back of the net a little later in the season than not at all.
Tkachuk Putting the Team First
Tkachuk continues to put the team in front of him first. The goal remains the same: winning the franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup.
“I know I’ve said that all year. Everyone is truly in it for that main goal at the end. We’re just building our game.”
Matthew Tkachuk on the team’s seven-game winning streak going into St. Louis.
There are many reasons why he wears the “A” on his jersey, but his leadership and team-first mentality are two of the biggest factors. His coach agrees that he’s been improving with every game.
“To his credit, leadership is very important to him. He came in this year and he was really responsible defensively. That’s a good thing. We want him to keep that. When you look at it, it’s not just Matthew. There’s a whole bunch of our guys that if you look at where they were last year to now in terms of the quality of their defense, it’s night and day. We’re a much better defensive team. He made those adjustments and now you can see [the offense] start to come for him. It’s been good to watch.”
Head coach Paul Maurice on Matthew Tkachuk this season.
As a result, the team is also starting to thrive. Tkachuk is getting hot at the perfect time to help Florida compete in the tough Atlantic Division.
Can Tkachuk Continue?
Since coming over in the blockbuster trade two summers ago, Tkachuk has been everything the Panthers wanted and needed. He’s a tough forward who does not mind getting his hands dirty, and he’s a fantastic playoff performer.
If he keeps up this hot streak, he could make the same noise in the playoffs again this year. Only this time, it could yield much better results. The Panthers start a five-game homestand tonight against the Kings.
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