In last season’s run to the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Panthers earned a reputation as the NHL’s bad boys, goading opponents and frequently carrying over their physical play to after the whistle.
But Tkachuk said the Panthers are back in the Final, facing off against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 on Saturday night in Sunrise, because they — himself included — learned how to curb most of that extracurricular activity.
“I’d say that used to be a part of my game and that now it’s pretty nonexistent anymore,” Tkachuk said at Stanley Cup media day Friday. “I’ve kind of learned what works, and what works is playing as hard as I can for 30 to 45 seconds — well, sometimes I take the long shift, so 30 seconds to a minute — and just leave it all out there, come back to the bench and get rested for the next one. There’s no need to waste your time doing extra stuff.”
Coach Paul Maurice has praised his team’s maturity all season, as the Panthers came to training camp with a businesslike approach to winning the Stanley Cup that eluded them last season. He said avoiding incidents after play has stopped that could lead to penalties has been a function of that.
“I would like to think it’s maturity and that we’ve gotten better,” Maurice said. “There’s no value in it. We’ve been an exceptionally disciplined team since midway through the Tampa series [in the first round].”
For all that discipline, the Panthers still take their share of penalties. Florida’s 12:10 penalty minutes per game is the third most in the postseason for teams that advanced past the first round. Their penalties taken per 60 minutes (3.97) ranks fourth. With Edmonton’s power play clicking at a 37% conversion rate, the Panthers want to avoid giving the Oilers any extra chances to score.
Tkachuk said that means continuing to not cross the line.
“You guys have watched us the last couple series. There’s nothing after the whistle. There’s no nonsense or chirping or really anything that’s not just playing hard,” he said. “So that’s probably a big difference from last year. This year we’re super disciplined. That’s been our biggest achievement so far and probably our best asset.”
The Panthers are trying to win the first Stanley Cup in franchise history and become the first team since the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins to win the Cup after losing in the Final the previous season.
“It’s kind of like a Christmas Eve feeling right now,” Tkachuk said. “It’s been a long week trying to keep your mind off it as much as possible, and just enjoy the warm weather outside as much as you can. But it’s hard not to think about Game 1, and now that it’s finally almost here, it’s more exciting now.”
The Ottawa Senators have opened up a nice gap as the first wild card, with 75 points and 26 regulation wins in 65 games. Beyond them, things get interesting.
If it comes down to the regulation-wins tiebreaker at season’s end, the Rangers have an upper hand over all the rest, with 29 in that column, compared with 23 for the Jackets, Red Wings and Bruins, and just 22 for the Habs.
The Canadiens host the Panthers also at 7 p.m. (NHL Network)
The Blue Jackets face the visiting Rangers also at 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
And if they have their sights set on catching the Senators, these clubs are all rooting for the Maple Leafs, who host Ottawa (7 p.m., ESPN+). It’s a great night for multiple streaming devices!
There is a lot of runway left until April 17, the final day of the regular season, and we’ll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 62 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 75.9 Next game: vs. WPG (Sunday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 22
Points: 45 Regulation wins: 13 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 55.1 Next game: vs. WSH (Saturday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 5
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.
The Texas Rangers‘ pitching staff took another hit Friday, when right-hander Jon Gray suffered a right wrist fracture.
Gray was struck by a line drive from Colorado Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia to lead off the fourth inning that knocked him out of the game.
“Not good news, not good news,” manager Bruce Bochy told reporters. “It’s terrible. I feel awful for him, to be this close to getting the season going. It’s just not good news. I’ll get back in there and find out more, but right now, there is a fracture.”
Gray’s injury is the third setback for the Rangers rotation this week. The team said Thursday that left-hander Cody Bradford would start the season on the injured list because of soreness in his throwing elbow. Tyler Mahle had been scratched from a start with forearm soreness, but the right-hander returned to pitch in a minor league game Thursday.
Gray went 5-6 with a 4.47 ERA in 23 appearances (19 starts) for the Rangers last season, when he was shut down in September for a foot injury that required surgery. He is in the final year of a four-year, $56 million deal.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
TOKYO — Japanese star Shohei Ohtani showed off some prodigious power in his return to the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.
In an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants, the three-time Most Valuable Player belted a long two-run homer to right field in the third inning to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead, setting off a roar from the roughly 42,000 fans in attendance.
The Dodgers put on quite a power display in the third with Michael Conforto, Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández all going deep to give Los Angeles a 5-0 advantage.
The Dodgers are playing in Japan as part of the Tokyo Series. The team is playing two exhibition games against Japanese teams before starting the regular season with two games against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to have at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in one season in 2024. He played several seasons for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan before coming to the U.S. in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels.