‘He’s unstoppable’: Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk, now out of goal drought, looks to stay hot and clinch Stanley Cup

FORT LAUDERDALE — The Panthers were in desperate need of a goal, and Matthew Tkachuk supplied it.

Tkachuk’s second-period goal, his first since the first game of the Eastern Conference finals, cut Florida’s deficit to 3-1 and woke the despondent crowd at Amerant Bank Arena. Although the Panthers eventually lost 5-3, dropping their second straight Stanley Cup Final game, Tkachuk’s strong performance offered promise that the star winger might be out of his playoff drought just in time for Florida to clinch its first-ever Stanley Cup in Game 6 in Edmonton at 8 p.m. on Friday.

“He’s one of our leaders,” Florida forward Evan Rodrigues said. “When your leader’s leading, everyone follows behind. I think it was big for him to get a goal there. Probably the best game he’s had this series. I think when he’s at his best, he’s just a force. He’s unstoppable. He’s big, and he wants the puck. He wants contact when he has the puck. He’s so good at protecting it.

“When he’s getting to the dirty areas, he’s one of the best in the league at it. I think it’s one of his biggest skill sets. I think it’s why he’s been such a good playoff performer. I think if he brings that mentality, that he’ll continue to have that success.”

Tkachuk spent his first postseason run with the Panthers scoring multiple clutch goals. He performed well through the first two rounds of the playoffs, but after scoring in Game 1 against the New York Rangers, he went nine games without a goal.

Despite the goalless streak, Tkachuk was not invisible on the ice. He still notched four assists, but he had a plus/minus of -3. Fortunately for Tkachuk, the Panthers did not suffer, going 6-3, clinching the conference finals and winning the first three games of the Stanley Cup Final without a goal from Tkachuk.

In Game 5, Tkachuk came alive. He scored, notched an assist, had three high-danger shots and six hits. He also made one of the game’s most stunning plays, sliding outstretched on his stomach and swiping his stick to divert a potential empty-net goal that would have ended the Panthers’ late comeback attempt. It was a highlight-reel play, but it only kept Florida’s hopes alive for a moment as Edmonton star Connor McDavid got hold of the loose puck and scored to put the game away.

“He’s giving everything he has, and so do we all,” Panthers forward Anton Lundell said. “We play (and) just leave our heart out every game.”

Florida created more with Tkachuk on the ice than it has all series. The Panthers had seven high-danger chances while he was on the ice, according to the hockey analytics website Natural Stat Trick. That is the most high-danger chances with Tkachuk skating than the previous four Stanley Cup Final games. They also had 38 shot attempts, which is the most since Game 4 against New York.

Ideally for the Panthers, Tkachuk and his linemates will keep up that level of play in Edmonton on Friday and come back to Florida with the team’s first Stanley Cup.

“I thought that line may have made the biggest adjustment to their game going into Game 5,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “They were really strong, defensively. That line’s almost like a broken-play line. They can quick-strike off a forecheck, off the stretch game or the up-and-down-the-ice game. Certainly, Sam Bennett can do that. Rodrigues can do that. Their best is in close areas, close-quarter combat. That’s when those guys are at their best.

“So what they did in the game, for me, was they gave themselves the most amount of minutes in that context and in that place. Then, for me, Matthew finds a rhythm to his game and the hands and everything starts to go back together.”