On Fire: Tkachuk Named NHL's 3rd Star of the Week

SUNRISE, Fla. – Make it another star for Matthew Tkachuk.

Honored for the second time this season, the Florida Panthers forward was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week for the week ending Feb. 18, the NHL announced on Monday.

The other stars were Toronto's Auston Matthews (First Star) and Edmonton's Connor McDavid (Second Star).

“I approach every game the exact same,” said Tkachuk, who ranks second on the team with 64 points (20 goals, 44 assists). “Sometimes you get the breaks, sometimes you don’t. Depending on how the games play out, you’re just doing whatever you can to help the team."

Helping the Panthers improve to 36-15-4 and climb to the top of the Atlantic Division, Tkachuk cracked the scoresheet in all three games during a 3-0-0 road trip last week.

Overall, his eight points (three goals, five assists) ranked second in the NHL last week.

Since Jan. 1, he also leads the NHL in scoring with 37 points (15 goals, 22 assists).

“Points-wise, he’s tearing it up right now,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. “But I think whether he’s on the scoresheet or not, he’s a key player for us. On the ice, everyone sees what he’s doing. Off the ice, he’s the leader. He does everything right. I’ve said so many good things about him. He’s just incredible.”

After notching a goal and two assist in a 5-2 win at Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Tkachuk tallied an assist in a 4-0 win at Buffalo in the second half of the back-to-back on Thursday.

Closing out the week with one of their most-impressive road games of the season, Tkachuk matched linemate Sam Bennett with four points (two goals, two assists) in a 9-2 clobbering of the cross-state rival Lightning on Saturday.

Extending the lead to 6-2, Tkachuk, who’s really been terrorizing Tampa Bay since joining the Panthers, lit the lamp twice within the first 1:37 of the second period for the fastest two goals scored by a single skater to start a period in franchise history.

His four points also marked his seventh four-point game since taking his talents to South Florida.

“We had contributions from everybody,” said Tkachuk, who also showed off his physicality by ranking tied for second on the Panthers with 12 hits last week. “Specials teams were really good. Even going late into the game, we played the physical brand of hockey that makes us successful.”

In the 15 games that Tkachuk has scored this season, the Panthers are 14-1-0.