Tkachuk's playoff heroics for Panthers recall OT goal in Memorial Cup

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Seven years after scoring the Memorial Cup-winning goal for London of the Ontario Hockey League, Matthew Tkachuk continues to impress his junior hockey coach and general manager with his heroics in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"He's got that inner drive, determination, passion, all of that," London GM Mark Hunter said of the Florida Panthers forward. "All those words you want to use to talk about him are true. Always were, always will be.

"He wants to win, and he wants to be in those big moments to help do it. He did it with us in the Memorial Cup and he's doing it now for the Florida Panthers.

"The bigger the moment, the bigger he plays. You can see it in this year's playoffs."

RELATED: [Complete Stanley Cup Final coverage]

On May 29, 2016, Tkachuk scored his second goal of the game 7:49 into overtime to give London a 3-2 victory over Rouyn-Noranda in the Memorial Cup championship game. It's a moment Hunter and his brother, London coach Dale, will never forget.

Tkachuk still texts Dale, sometimes playfully chiding him for not using him in certain situations, like 4-on-4. For their part, the Hunters still watch their former pupil now that he's in the NHL, much like Mark did on Thursday during Game 3 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final between the Panthers and the visiting Vegas Golden Knights.

Tkachuk missed most of the first period and the early part of the second after absorbing a big hit from Vegas forward Keegan Kolesar, causing many in the crowd at FLA Live Arena to wonder if he'd return.

Not only did Tkachuk come back, he scored the tying goal with 2:13 left in the third period. He then provided the screen on Carter Verhaeghe's overtime goal that gave Florida a 3-2 victory.

The win cut the Golden Knights' lead in the best-of-7 series to 2-1 heading into Game 4 here Saturday (8 p.m. ET: TNT, TBS, truTV, CBC, SN, TVAS).

The left wing, who has 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 19 playoff games this season, has his fingerprints all over the Panthers' postseason run. He has four game-winning goals, three in overtime, which reinforces Mark Hunter's point that Tkachuk embraces being a difference-maker when the game is on the line.

"He brings it to another level when it really counts in the playoffs," Dale Hunter said. "He did it for us in the Memorial Cup. He brought it to another level. And he's doing it right now. He's a huge, huge part for them.

"He pushes himself to be the best, and that's why he's performing so well right now."

For the Hunters, both former NHL forwards, it reminds them of Keith Tkachuk, Matthew's father, a forward who had 1,065 points (538 goals, 527 assists) in 1,201 regular-season games across 18 NHL seasons and 56 points (28 goals, 28 assists) in 89 playoff games. At the same time, Matthew - like his brother, Brady, a forward for the Ottawa Senators -- also plays with the type of edge and sandpaper that were trademarks of his dad.

"I think they're pretty similar," Mark Hunter said of Matthew and Keith. "They're very competitive and they can be downright angry out there."

He laughed.

"Both of them have some anger issues that is good for the game of hockey where they're very competitive and they want to win hockey games."

The same could be said of Dale Hunter, who is second in NHL history with 3,565 penalty minutes behind Dave "Tiger" Williams (3,971), underscoring how he often pushed the envelope even if it meant crossing the line sometimes.

"I played against Keith, and he was way better than me, just like Matthew," Dale said. "You knew you had to be on the top of your game if you played against Keith. He made you better because you had to be on top of your game to counter what he was doing, and just it made you sharp.

"They come to play, they come to win and they will do anything to win. Like his dad, he wants to be in front of the net. If you want him on the half wall, he can do that. And if you want to play aggressive and the hitting game, he's a complete and ideal player who can play a skill game or rough-and-tumble game, just like his dad. There are not many players like that.

"I love that family. They enjoy the game and they enjoy the challenge."