OSTRAVA, Czechia -- Brady Tkachuk is doing his best to keep track of his older brother’s latest run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Florida Panthers while representing the United States at the 2024 IIHF World Championship.
“I only [see] it when I wake up the next morning,” the Ottawa Senators captain said Saturday from the tournament, where he is U.S. captain. “That's the tough part and crazy part with the time change. I try my best to watch and keep up, but it's too hard for us to get our rest and get ready for games here."
Matthew Tkachuk is in the midst of his second straight run with the Panthers. After helping them reach the Stanley Cup Final last season, the 26-year-old is third in NHL postseason scoring this time around with 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in eight games.
He’s doing his part for the Panthers in other ways too; Brady said he was able to catch the highlights and was a fan of the brief exchange between Matthew and Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak on Wednesday, an eventual 6-1 win for Florida in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Second Round. The two offensively gifted wings dropped the gloves at 12:42 of the third period.
Each was assessed a fighting major and misconduct.
"I loved it, Brady said.
Tkachuk was second on the Panthers during the regular season with 88 points (26 goals, 62 assists) in 80 games, but he also had 88 penalty minutes. He had 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 20 playoff games last season, when Florida reached the Cup Final before losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.
Pastrnak had 47 penalty minutes during the regular season; it was his second NHL fight and first since 2018. The 27-year-old was fifth in the League during the regular season with 110 points (47 goals, 63 assists) in 82 games. He has seven points (three goals, four assists) in 10 games this postseason.
"When you have a guy that does that, there's a tremendous respect to put your body on the line like that," said Brady, who had six fighting majors and 134 penalty minutes this season. "Whenever a guy does that, there's an amount of respect. Not many guys are willing to do that."
Florida holds a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-7 series after a 6-2 win in Game 3 on Friday. Game 4 will be in Boston on Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TBS, SN, TVAS).
Brady didn't offer any advice on how the opposition should handle his brother moving forward.
"I'm always on his side, so I'm not going to be giving any tips," he said.
