Keith Tkachuk slams son's team for being soft ahead of matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs
With the Florida Panthers just outside of a Wild Card playoff spot in the NHL's Eastern Conference, the team is involved in a very important matchup Wednesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. With just eight games to go on the season, the Panthers need every point they can get to stay in it, a position many didn't believe they'd be in at this point in the year. Ahead of the game, FirstUp invited Keith Tkachuk, father of Florida's Matthew Tkachuk, to speak with them about the team's chances. He did not hold back at all.
"This is do or die for the Panthers right now. I watched them the other night. I was staying at Brady's house but, Brady's team, you know they played really well, they have some jam. I'm a little disappointed in the Panthers. They're a soft team and they're getting everything they deserve right now."
Florida lost that game against Brady Tkachuk, Keith's other son, and the Ottawa Senators 5-2. It was the Panthers fourth loss in a row, including one to Toronto last week. Tkachuk explained that son Matthew has been really happy with his decision to go to Florida in the offseason after a trade from Calgary. But Tkachuk added Matthew isn't happy with where the team is.
"He's pretty devastated right now with where they're at, but he's still hanging on, they still have a chance, and it's up to them to get their butts going and start playing like a team that should be a lot better than they're showing right now."
Tkachuk said he knows injuries have been an issue for Florida, but reiterated that the team is capable of playing better than they have down the stretch. Toronto will be a major test for the Panthers.
| POLL | ||
Will the Florida Panthers make the 2022-23 playoffs? | ||
| Yes, they'll sneak in | 19 | 24.7 % |
| No, they'll miss completely | 48 | 62.3 % |
| I'm not sure | 10 | 13 % |
| List of polls | ||
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