Stanley Cup Final: Matthew Tkachuk bringing Game 7 urgency to Game 6 against ‘desperate’ Connor McDavid
The Florida Panthers can close out the Stanley Cup Final Tuesday with a win in Game 6. Matthew Tkachuk said the Panthers must approach it with the urgency of Game 7 so that the Oilers don’t force a winner-take-all game in Edmonton.
This time last year, the Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead against the Oilers before dropping three straight games, which forced a Game 7 in Sunrise. Florida managed to make the fourth time the charm with a narrow 2-1 win that clinched the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
The Cats probably don’t want to tempt fate for the second year in a row, especially since this Game 7 would be in Edmonton. As good as Florida has been at home this postseason, giving Connor McDavid the chance to put on a championship show in front of the hometown crowd is risky business.
Tkachuk knows that, which is why he and the Panthers are treating Tuesday night’s Game 6 as though it’s win-or-go-home.
“We have to treat this like a Game 7,” Tkachuk said.
McDavid, last year’s Conn Smythe Trophy winner, is the type of player who can burn you with a second chance. Tkachuk is aware McDavid and the Oilers will be fighting for their playoff lives, but he says the Panthers will be ready for that push.
“It’s going to be a tough test,” Tkachuk said. “He’s desperate to win a Cup. So are we. … For us to be in this position now, we’ve worked so hard for this. So has he and the rest of the Oilers as well. We’re here for a reason. He’s obviously a talent like nobody else in the league. It’s so hard to shut him down. I don’t think you can shut him down. You can just try to limit him as much as you can. We’ve got guys in there I hope are ready for the challenge because it’s gonna be a big test for us. We’re all ready for it.”
Florida had plenty of runway last season. It could afford three straight losses before lifting the Cup on home ice. That’s not the case this year. Both teams should come out with a heightened level of urgency, and that should make for the most intense game of an already terrific series.
