STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF SERIES PREVIEW: LeafsForever vs. TimeToHunt Are the Leafs a legit threat to go all the way with their emotional weight lifted? Or will Matthew Tkachuk run through them like they're wet toilet paper? Analysis from MLarkinHockey:
There simply hasn’t been a player quite like Matthew Tkachuk in a long time. He has the offensive chops to post consecutive 100-point seasons on two different teams. He’s elite defensively. And he combines the personality of an agitator with a 6-foot-2, 201 frame that allows him to throw his weight around. No player in the NHL – not even Connor McDavid – tilted the 5-on-5 play driving like Tkachuk did this season. The Panthers outscored their opponents 89-60 with him on the ice.
The Panthers, territorially, were more or less as dominant this season as they were last season, when they became the first team in 26 years to eclipse four goals per game. They ranked top-four in the NHL in expected goals this season. They finished “only” with the NHL’s No. 6 offense largely thanks to a slow start. From Jan. 1 onward, only the Edmonton Oilers averaged more goals per game than the Panthers.
The Panthers were a so-so defensive club in the regular season despite the fact they have many players with strong two-way track records, from former Selke Trophy winner Barkov to Anton Lundell to big blueliner Aaron Ekblad. Their usual top pair of Ekblad and Gustav Forsling had a subpar season in their own end.
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