Matthew Tkachuk is taking his flair for the dramatic to the Stanley Cup Final—and bringing the Florida Panthers with him.
Tkachuk’s second goal of the game with 4.9 seconds remaining in regulation was the difference in Florida’s 4–3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday, May 24, in Sunrise, Fla., capping a four-game sweep of the Eastern Conference finals.
The Panthers had never previously swept a postseason series.
Tkachuk scored three winning goals in the best-of-seven set, the others coming in the fourth overtime in Game 1 and the first OT in Game 2.
“We are lucky to have Chucky on our side,” Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky said on the TNT broadcast. “He’s been great for us all season long and the whole playoffs. He knows how to score big goals.”…