Tkachuk's mix of tenacity, talent sparks Panthers to Game 2 win in Eastern Final

RALEIGH, N.C. -- What makes Matthew Tkachuk so special was on full display for the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

The forward, known for his offensive skill, hard hits, big-game prowess and ability to get under his opponents’ skin, did all of the above in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final at Lenovo Center, sparking the defending Stanley Cup champions to a 5-0 win against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Panthers lead the best-of-7 series 2-0 with Game 3 at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).

Tkachuk, who had gone 10 straight playoff games without a goal and hadn’t had a multipoint game since the first game of the first round, finished with two points (one goal, one assist).

But teammates say you cannot judge him by the numbers he does or doesn’t put up.

“He always plays well,” captain Aleksander Barkov said of Tkachuk. “He’s one-of-a-kind player and we’re lucky to have him on our side. He does it all for us. He’s huge for us.”

His line with Sam Bennett (two goals, one assist) and Carter Verhaeghe (three assists) combined for eight points and played a hand in the first four Florida goals, the first coming just 1:17 into the game.

“It was an unreal start for us,” Tkachuk said. “Now the goals aside, just the way we played in the first period was as good as it gets.”

On their first shift of the game, Tkachuk, Bennett and Verhaeghe forced several turnovers in Carolina’s offensive zone. Near the Carolina net, Tkachuk pressured defenseman Dmitry Orlov to give the puck up to Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov. Tkachuk then circled back up to the half wall, stepped up and intercepted a weak clearing attempt by Svechnikov and slid the puck to defenseman Gustav Forsling, who buried the shot for a 1-0 lead, stunning the Carolina crowd.

“I think that’s our strong suit,” Bennett said. "When we’re on with our relentless pressure, just one after another, it makes it difficult on them. So, we try to do that every night.”

Tkachuk and the Panthers weren’t done.

Later in the first period, Bennett pounded Svechnikov in the corner, resulting in a turnover that saw the puck eventually find Verhaeghe all alone behind the Carolina net. Verhaeghe moved to the front of the net, slid the puck across the crease and right onto the stick of Tkachuk, who tapped it in for a 2-0 lead at the 11:41 mark.

It ended Tkachuk's 10-game goalless streak, but he said the final score, not who scores, is all that matters to him.

“We’re up two games to zero, I do not care how we get there,” Tkachuk said. “If it goes in, it goes in. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I’ve never cared.

“But sometimes it’s nice to see it go in, but it is what it is. I’m not (Alex) Ovechkin, they are not always going to go in, but when they do, they feel nice.”

Like Tkachuk, Panthers coach Paul Maurice pays little attention to who is scoring and who isn’t.

“I never look, ever look at stats. It just doesn’t matter to me,” Maurice said. “I don’t care who scores, I really don’t.”

After getting on the board, Tkachuk got under the skin of Svechnikov. The two were jousting up and down the ice and eventually Svechnikov hit Tkachuk along the boards near the Hurricanes bench. He then punched Tkachuk in the back of the head, drawing a roughing minor. Bennett scored with 17 seconds left on the resulting power play, and it was 3-0 with 4:10 left in the first period.

“He’s able to be an agitator without taking penalties,” forward A.J. Greer said. “That’s huge for us. A skilled guy who can play in all different types of games.”

Though he didn’t get a point on the Panthers’ fourth goal, his fingerprints were all over it. With just over a minute left in the second period, Carolina forward Taylor Hall tried to carry the puck through the neutral zone, but Tkachuk stepped up on him just past the red line and Hall took a spill, allowing Tkachuk to get the puck from Bennett and carry it into the offensive zone, starting a play that would eventually see Bennett score on a feed from Verhaeghe to make it a 4-0 game with 39 seconds left in the second period.

“He’s at his best in big moments,” Greer said.

It’s been a season of highs and lows for Tkachuk. He had 57 points (22 goals, 35 assists) in the Panthers’ first 52 games of the season, and he then became a household name in the U.S. when he fought Brandon Hagel of Canada at the start of a game in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

But he sustained a lower-body injury in that game, didn’t play in the U.S.’s third game against Sweden, and then sat out the final 23:22 of regulation and 8:18 of overtime in the championship game loss to Canada.

He would miss the rest of the regular season before scoring two goals and getting an assist when he returned for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He would score again in Game 3 and then would get six assists in the next 10 games.

But on Thursday, he did more than just score, being part of a line with Bennett and Verhaeghe that imposed its will on the Hurricanes with a ferocious forecheck.

“He’s a guy that doesn’t need to score to be effective,” Bennett said. "He’s doing everything on the ice for this team, and when he scores, it’s just an added bonus.”