Is Matthew Tkachuk the most clutch player this playoff season? A look at how the Florida Panthers star has taken over

By Sam Nestler

Modified May 19, 2023 19:55 GMT

Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk scored 42 goals for the Calgary Flames during the 2021-22 regular season, eight better than his previous career high. But after a second-round exit in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Flames were unable to re-sign Tkachuk.

Instead, Tkachuk opted to sign with the Panthers, who had won the Presidents' Trophy that same season.

In his first year with the Panthers, Tkachuk tallied 40 goals for the second straight year and second time in his career.

The hockey world was already well-aware of Tkachuk's superstar status. But not many were ready for the performance Tkachuk has shown in the 2023 playoffs.

Matthew Tkachuk has recorded six goals and 17 points in 13 playoff games. But it is not his overall stats that have been most impressive. Of those six goals, two of them have been game-winners.

Each and every time the Panthers have needed a boost, Tkachuk has delivered, whether that means scoring a goal, creating a play or getting physical with the opposing team.

Clutch.

Matthew Tkachuk is at his best in the biggest moments. In other words, he is a "gamer" as described by his head coach after Tkachuk's overtime-winning goal in Game 5 of the first round.

“That guy is a — and then you put a long string of profanity — gamer,” Paul Maurice said. “Is he not a gamer? I got to see him a lot in Calgary when I was in Winnipeg and it drove me crazy how he could just, out of nowhere, pull a puck across.

"What are there 700 guys in the league? Maybe 640 jam that thing as fast as they can and lose it. He just pulls it across. He’s just a … gamer.

Matthew Tkachuk proves clutch again in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals

As the Eastern Conference finals between the Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes got underway on Thursday, Tkachuk was up to his old tricks. In the quadruple overtime thriller, Tkachuk played 40:31 over 53 shifts, among the most on either side.

But when the game drove into early Friday morning, it became all about guts.

Both teams had played more than two full hockey games, were exhausted, were chugging red bull and eating pizza between periods, and everybody inside the arena wanted the game to end.

So who came up with the big play? Matthew Tkachuk.

With under 15 seconds to go in the fourth overtime, the Panthers forced a turnover in the Hurricanes zone. Eventually, the puck found its way to Tkachuk's stick.

Rather than rushing a shot and hitting the defender right in his face, Tkachuk (again) took an extra second, pulled a slick toe drag and released the wrister just past the shot blocker. The near-perfect shot beat Fredrik Andersen over the glove to give Florida a massive Game 1 victory in the sixth-longest game in NHL history.

"Probably my favorite [goal] so far in my life," Matthew Tkachuk said. "Big to not let it go to five overtimes there. [Sergei Bobrovsky] played great, everybody followed. Total team effort for two games, basically."

In the Stanley Cup playoffs, pressure can easily become overwhelming. The players who rise above it are usually the ones who have the most success and find their way into the later rounds.

For the Florida Panthers, they have the most clutch player remaining in the playoff field. That cannot be understated.