Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk made fun of the Toronto Maple Leafs after they lost Game 7 in the first round to the Boston Bruins on May 4.
Toronto was knocked out in the first round of the playoffs, coming back from being down 3-1 in the series to force Game 7. In the final game, Toronto took a 1-0 lead in the third period, but less than two minutes later, Boston evened the score.
The Bruins and then scored in overtime to move on to the second round to face the Florida Panthers. Though Florida did not have much time to get ready to play in the second round, Tkachuk states that he and the team expected the Maple Leafs to lose.
“I was just glad it went to Game 7, to be honest, making them play another game. At that point, it was late and I just wanted to go to bed, but I wanted to see who won. But, I think, without this sounding too bad, I think we all knew it was probably going to be Boston the way that series was going. I’m sure a lot of people expected it at the start of the series, but in playoffs, you never know. I think throughout the whole series we probably anticipated they were going to come out and win it one way or another,” Tkachuk told the media on May 5.
Tkachuk subtly poked fun at the Maple Leafs due to their history of disappointments in the playoffs, which has happened once again.
Tkachuk Anticipating an ‘Exciting Series’ Against Boston
With the Bruins defeating the Maple Leafs in Game 7, Boston will now face Florida in the second round of the playoffs.
Florida pulled off a surprise victory against Boston in Game 7 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last season, so there is a backstory to this series. As a result, Tkachuk is looking forward to an exciting series for the fans.
“I’m expecting a very exciting series,” Tkachuk said, via NHL.com. “They’re such an outstanding team in every aspect of the game. They excel in every area. They are very strong in special teams. Their 5-on-5 play is excellent. Their goaltending is remarkable. Their team defense is very good. They have some star players. I think they are quite similar to our team, so it should be an exciting series.”
After being upset in last year's playoffs, Boston won all four matches against Florida in the regular season, with two ending in overtime.
“We know that this is a very similar team to last year,” Tkachuk said. “A couple of changes, but I believe last year there were many high-scoring games. We are probably expecting it to be a bit lower-scoring based on how both teams like to play and find success. So, it’s an amazing challenge here.”
Panthers-Bruins Playoff Schedule
Florida will now face off against Boston in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with the following schedule:
- Game 1: Monday, May 6 – Boston at Florida — 8:00 p.m. Eastern time
- Game 2: Wednesday, May 8 – Boston at Florida — 7:30 p.m. Eastern time
- Game 3: Friday, May 10 – Florida at Boston — 7 p.m. Eastern time
- Game 4: Sunday, May 12 – Florida at Boston — TBD
- Game 5 (if needed): Tuesday, May 14 – Boston at Florida — TBD
- Game 6 (if needed): Friday, May 17 – Florida at Boston — TBD
- Game 7 (if needed): Sunday, May 19 – Boston at Florida — To be decided
