Matthew Tkachuk had a message for his team's naysayers after he extended the Florida Panthers' season with the overtime winner in Game 5 against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.
"We were supposed to get swept in this series, right? Everyone's saying so," he said following the Cats' 4-3 victory, per Bally Sports Florida. "I don't think anybody really gave us a chance after losing two games in a row at home. Coming here in a back-against-the-wall type game, it just seemed like the series was over before that game even started.
"For us to come out with the start we did speaks a lot about our team, our preparation, and our belief in each other."
The Bruins won the Presidents' Trophy and set records for most wins (65) and points (135) in a campaign. The Panthers, meanwhile, made the playoffs by a single point just one season after they took home the Presidents' Trophy.
Forty-three points separated the two teams in the standings. Florida entered Game 5 in Boston staring down a 3-1 series deficit after losing back-to-back matchups on home ice.
The Panthers never trailed in Wednesday's back-and-forth contest, but they never held a multi-goal lead, either. Tkachuk ultimately capitalized on a rare turnover from goaltender Linus Ullmark to put the game to bed.
Head coach Paul Maurice heaped praise on Tkachuk after his overtime heroics kept Florida's season alive.
"That guy is a - and then you put a long string of profanity - gamer," he said. "Is he not a gamer?"
However, Maurice posited that Sergei Bobrovsky made his own case to be named the game's MVP. The veteran netminder made 44 saves in just his second start of these playoffs.
"(Bobrovsky) needed to carry that weight. Like Matthew Tkachuk carries the weight, like (Aleksander) Barkov does, the leaders carry the weight of your team," Maurice said, according to team beat reporter Jameson Olive.
The puck drops on Game 6 on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET in Sunrise.
