Tkachuk: Panthers still embracing 'underdog role'

EDMONTON -- Matthew Tkachuk believes the reigning champion Florida Panthers are the underdogs successful their Stanley Cup Final rematch against the Edmonton Oilers.

"Absolutely. We'll proceed riding that underdog role. We person truthful far," said the Panthers winger astatine Tuesday's media day.

The Oilers finished with 101 points successful the regular season, 3 much than the Panthers (98) earned implicit successful the Eastern Conference, to unafraid location crystal vantage successful the Stanley Cup Final, which begins connected Wednesday night. Florida defeated Edmonton for the Stanley Cup successful 7 games past postseason aft blowing a 3-0 bid lead.

But that didn't gain them favourite presumption for this rematch. The bulk of pundits person superstar Connor McDavid lifting the Stanley Cup for the archetypal clip aft an Oilers bid win. ESPN BET has the Oilers arsenic a -130 favourite to triumph the Cup.

"They've earned the close to person location ice. They had a amended regular play than us, truthful we're present starting successful Edmonton," said Tkachuk. "It's not thing that we're caller to. We've started connected the roadworthy each circular successful these playoffs. Hopefully we tin usage that [experience] to our advantage."

This is the Panthers' 3rd consecutive travel to the Stanley Cup Final, having mislaid to Vegas successful 2023 and past winning the Cup successful 2024. Tkachuk chuckled erstwhile asked however Florida stays motivated with each that success.

"I mean, it's the Stanley Cup. It's the astir motivating happening successful sports," said Tkachuk, who has 16 points successful 17 games successful the playoffs this season. "We're not contented with conscionable going to the finals. We privation to beryllium a title caliber team, twelvemonth successful and twelvemonth out."

His coach, Paul Maurice, agreed that the Panthers are thing but contented with having defeated the Oilers past season.

"I couldn't articulate precise good the acquisition of past twelvemonth anterior to [winning], and past it happens and you person this unthinkable acquisition with your radical of guys that you attraction truthful overmuch about. And past they travel backmost adjacent year, and you say, 'God, I privation to bash it again.' It's specified a fantastic thing," helium said.

For Tkachuk, 1 of the measures of the Panthers' occurrence has been however South Florida has been transformed into a abrupt hockey hotbed.

"Hockey's benignant of turned into the No. 1 athletics down there. It's been amusive to beryllium a portion of that," helium said. "To spot the maturation ever since I've travel to Florida successful the crippled and the instrumentality basal and the rinks astir and what the caller signifier rink has done for Fort Lauderdale and South Florida, it's conscionable continuing to grow."

To exemplify the point, Tkachuk told a communicative from astir the clip helium was traded to the Panthers successful 2022.

"I was picking up meal somewhere, by myself staying astatine the hotel. I retrieve idiosyncratic asking maine what I did for work. I'm like, 'Oh, I play hockey'. And they went, 'Hockey? In Florida? You indispensable suck,'" helium said, drafting laughter. "It's decidedly changed since then."