It was one of the biggest upsets not only in NHL history, but in professional sports history this past spring. The 65 win Boston Bruins were upended in stunning fashion in seven games by the Florida Panthers, who were the very last team to qualify for the playoffs and weren't given so much as a snowball's chance in hell to beat the heavily favored Bruins.
And one of the biggest factors for Florida's victory was the play of forward Matthew Tkachuk. Not only did Tkachuk light it up on the scoresheet, but he drove the Bruins nuts with his physical play as well as his constant presence in front of goaltender Linus Ullmark. It was Tkachuk who got the rally from a 3-1 series deficit started with a clutch overtime goal in Boston in Game 5, and when it was all said and done, had tallied 11 points in his team's seven game series win.
As you know, the Bruins that hit the ice this fall won't be looking anything like the Bruins juggernaut of last season. The departures of Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Tyler Bertuzzi, Dmitri Orlov, Taylor Hall, Tomas Nosek and Nick Foligno have ensured that it's going to be a very different squad in 2023-24. And to that end, Tkachuk is having a little fun at their expense yet again.
"I'm excited to see what Boston does after their season last year, how they follow that one up," Tkachuk quipped during the NHL player media tour in Vegas when asked who he's most looking forward to facing in the new season.
Tkachuk was easily the MVP for the Panthers in the regular season, scoring 40 goals and 69 assists in what was his first year with Florida after the blockbuster trade from the Calgary Flames.
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