FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Matthew Tkachuk made his feelings about the Edmonton Oilers clear during his introductory news conference with the Florida Panthers on July 25, 2022.
“I hate Edmonton,” the forward said, three days after being traded by the Calgary Flames to Florida and signing an eight-year contract. “But I hate Tampa [Bay] more now.”
Tkachuk and the Panthers already took care of his current least favorite team by defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the Eastern Conference First Round. To complete their run for their first championship, they must go through the team Tkachuk used to love to hate in the Stanley Cup Final.
Florida hosts Edmonton in Game 1 of the best-of-7 series at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS).
But does Tkachuk still hate his former Battle of Alberta rivals like he used to?
“I don’t know. I wouldn’t say that,” the forward said Tuesday. “But anytime you’re playing any opponent in the Stanley Cup Final you don’t even have to have a team rivalry or any rivalry with them. Right when the puck drops it’s going to be very intense like you’ve had that rivalry a few years. ... It’s the Stanley Cup Final, so much on the line, so I’m sure the teams will go after it pretty good early and I’m sure both teams really, really want this.”
The Panthers, who defeated the New York Rangers in six games in the Eastern Conference Final, have been driven to return to the Cup Final and win since losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Final last season. After defeating the Dallas Stars in six games in the Western Conference Final, the Oilers have reached the Cup Final for the first time since 2006 and seeking to win the Cup for the first time since 1990.
Tkachuk has a decent idea of the importance of this series to Edmonton and its fans from playing about 180 miles south in Calgary for six seasons. The 26-year-old has 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists) in 32 career regular-season games against the Oilers, including 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in 28 games with the Flames, who selected him with the No. 6 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.
“It’s a great environment to play in up there. They’re all into it,” Tkachuk said. “It’s really probably the biggest thing to happen in Canada in 30 years or whatever. Not 30, 20 years since they’ve been back in the finals in ’06. They’ve been waiting for it for 20 years, so I’m sure it’s going to be a great atmosphere.”
Tkachuk experienced what it can be like in the playoffs when Calgary faced Edmonton in the 2022 Western Conference Second Round. The Flames won the opener, but the Oilers won the next four to take the series in five.
Edmonton center Connor McDavid had 12 points (three goals, nine assists) and center Leon Draisaitl had 17 (two goals, 15 assists) in the series. Tkachuk had four points (team-high three goals, one assist).
“It was intense,” Tkachuk said. “We definitely ran into probably the best McDavid ever was playing. He was on fire and their other offensive guys had a great series and they actually played us really hard defensively as well. I think the first game was [9-6] or something like that and that was the only game we won …. But they played really well.”
Tkachuk noted the Oilers have had some roster turnover in the two seasons since he left the Flames. He said they’ve also changed how they play.
“I think that they defend better as a team than they get credit for,” Tkachuk said. “I think everybody still thinks about McDavid and company and the all-out offense, run and gun. That’s not really what they’re like. They, obviously, have that super high-end offense, but I would say they’re more complete now than maybe they were even two years ago when I was there.”
Still, slowing them down will be a challenge. McDavid leads all scorers this postseason with 31 points (five goals, 26 assists) in 18 games. Draisaitl is second with 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in 18 games and defenseman Evan Bouchard is third with 27 (six goals, 21 assists) in 18 games.
“So it’s got to be group,” Tkachuk said of defending Edmonton. “We’ve got guys that can skate, just like them. McDavid’s probably the fastest guy in the world, so got to be on the right side of him. If you’re even or behind him, he’s going to beat you, so we’ve got to be in front of him at all times and have layers of support.”
Florida has its share of offensive talent, too. Tkachuk leads the way with 19 points (four goals, 14 assists) in 17 playoff games. That’s five away from the Panthers record of 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) he set in 20 games last season before a fractured sternum kept him out of the last game of the Final.
Though Tkachuk’s regular-season production dropped from 109 points (40 goals, 69 assists) in 79 games last season to 88 points (26 goals, 62 assists) in 80 games this season, Florida coach Paul Maurice said he was just as effectual, particularly early in the season when defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour and forward Sam Bennett were out with injuries.
“When we had three critical pieces out of our lineup in the early part of the year, his (offensive) numbers weren’t great, but his defensive numbers were really good,” Maurice said. “He’s a leader in there so the culture and the shape of our team, he has a major impact on that.”
Maurice also pointed out how Tkachuk has become more disciplined. He had 74 penalty minutes in the playoffs alone last season. He has 19 this postseason.
Tkachuk attributed it to a team-wide commitment to discipline. That will be especially important against the Oilers, who are first in the playoffs on the power play at 37.3 percent.
So the Oilers might see a slightly different Tkachuk from the one who had 75 penalty minutes in 33 games against them (regular-season and playoffs) with the Flames. (He has no penalties in four regular-season games against Edmonton with Florida).
“I just think kind of recognizing my game and changing a little bit, I think not only myself but our whole team is super disciplined,” Tkachuk said. “Not necessarily just disciplined with not taking penalties, even though we’re down really a ton in that. But just discipline in our routes on the ice and being predictable and disciplined and knowing what the guy next to you is going to do and discipline in your shift length. Like everything.
“We’ve got that full-on buy-in right now 24/7, so our team has taking huge strides in that since I’ve seen in two years and, hopefully, we’re peaking at the right time.”
