from Nick Kypreos at the Toronto Star,
Tkachuk’s contributions were very apparent in Game 1 and the 25-year-old, who led the NHL playoffs in scoring heading into Wednesday’s games, was the driving force for the Panthers jumping to a 1-0 series lead.
When it comes to overall leadership — in the form of compete level, toughness and scoring on a nightly basis — not many in the NHL can touch this kid.
The Leafs and Kyle Dubas did their best to shore up team grit by bringing in Ryan O’Reilly, Noel Acciari, Jake McCabe and Luke Schenn at the trade deadline but, for the most part, we are talking about depth guys. Meanwhile, the Panthers are showcasing a front-line colonel in Tkachuk.
He has a rare skill set that includes extremely soft hands and boulder-hard play in tight areas. We know this is the time of year where the ice shrinks, and so do the games of certain players. Not Tkachuk. He is thriving right now and it was evident on the opening goal of the series against the Leafs.
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