Florida Panthers superstar Matthew Tkachuk threw some shade at the Toronto Maple Leafs following yet another Game 7 collapse against the Boston Bruins.
The victory set up a rematch between the Panthers and Bruins following last year’s shocking first-round matchup, which saw Boston blow a 3-1 series lead. In a press conference before the series officially gets underway tomorrow night, Tkachuk shared his thoughts about the Leafs-Bruins series.
Spoiler alert: Leafs fans probably won’t appreciate the comments all that much.
“Without this coming out too badly, I think we all knew it was probably going to be Boston the way that series was going,” Tkachuk said. ” I think throughout the whole series, we were probably expecting they were going to come out and win it one way or another.”
“Without this coming out too badly, I think we all knew it was probably going to be Boston the way that series was going.”
If Matthew Tkachuk was a betting man … he would have bet on the Bruins 😅 pic.twitter.com/5LX09BRuIE
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 5, 2024
Tkachuk has a history with the Leafs that dates back to his time with the Calgary Flames. During the 2020-21 season, the fiery forward got into it with Leafs defender Jake Muzzin after having the puck flung back at him after the final horn rang.
There has been a bit of bad blood between Tkachuk and the Leafs ever since.
Matthew Tkachuk was ANGRY at the end of this one 😠#Flames #Leafs pic.twitter.com/w7luEfyRZs
— Tim and Friends (@timandfriends) January 27, 2021
That being said, the 26-year-old Tkachuk also has plenty of history with the Bruins. He tormented Boston in last year’s playoff series, scoring five goals and 11 points in seven games. This includes a season-saving OT goal in Game 5 of that series.
Epic disaster for the Bruins and Tkachuk gets the OT winner pic.twitter.com/bGj5FXm33Q
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) April 27, 2023
Tkachuk also played a big role on the Panthers team, which dispatched the Leafs in five games in their second-round series last season. He isn’t alone in rubbing salt in the wound of Leafs fans, as the hockey world was all too eager to take delight in the team’s misfortune.
Leafs fans will have to ponder now whether they want the Bruins to get the best of Tkachuk or vice versa. We’ll see how it goes when that series starts tomorrow night.