NHL: Florida Panthers at Calgary Flames - Source: Imagn — Matthew Tkachuk and Brady excited to play together for team USA at 4 Nations Face-Off (Source: Imagn)

Matthew Tkachuk gives his honest opinion about playing with brother Brady for USA at 4 Nations Face-Off

Modified Dec 19, 2024 06:32 GMT

Matthew Tkachuk shared his excitement about playing with his brother Brady for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off. The tournament, featuring NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the U.S., will take place in February.

The games will be held in Boston at TD Garden and in Montreal at Bell Centre. For the Tkachuk brothers, this is a special event, as it will be their first time playing together on the international stage.

In a video shared by NHLonTNT on X (formerly Twitter), Matthew Tkachuk expressed his excitement. He said:

"I honestly can't wait. It's, you know, we've got business to take care of first, but you know, once that announcement came out, we were just absolutely thrilled.

"It's our first time being able to play with each other, in like real hockey. So this is incredible, our family’s so pumped, and we could not be more excited."

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Their father, Keith Tkachuk, played for Team USA during his career. He helped the U.S. win the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

Matthew Tkachuk is in his ninth NHL season and third with the Florida Panthers. He has represented the U.S. in international hockey before, winning bronze at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship and gold at the 2015 IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship.

The brothers last played together at the 2023 NHL All-Star Game, representing the Atlantic Division. The 4 Nations Face-Off will be a special opportunity for them to play together for their country. While they are focused on their NHL teams for now, they are excited for the tournament. They are also keeping an eye on the U.S. roster and looking forward to the event.

How has Matthew Tkachuk fared for the Panthers this season?

Matthew Tkachuk had a key goal in the Panthers' 6-5 win over Edmonton on Monday.

On Wednesday, he scored two goals in the 6-1 win against the Minnesota Wild to improve to 11 goals and 20 assists in 27 games for the season. Tkachuk is an important part of Florida’s offense. The Panthers are 19-11-2 and second in the Atlantic Division.

Despite some losses, like shutouts to Calgary and Vancouver, they’ve had big wins. Sam Reinhart leads with 20 goals and 41 points. The team’s power play is strong, ranked sixth at 26%. With 3.25 goals against per game, the Panthers need to improve defensively for a playoff run.