MATTHEW TKACHUK IN OT AGAIN AND THE PANTHERS ARE UP 2-0 ON THE CANES!! BONUS: Aleksander Barkov's Unreal Equalizer

Three Conference Finals games, all three went to overtime. TWICE Matthew Tkachuk has been clutch as clutch can be and delivered OTGWGs for the Florida Panthers!! First was the series opener against the Canes in Raleigh right near the end of the freaking fourth overtime, and now tonight. Unreal puck movement right here. Classic power play tic-tac-toe-GOOD NIGHT.

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Sorry I missed you last night, Taylor Howden and the Vegas Golden Knights. It's wildly impressive y'all are one of the NHL's Final Four for the fourth time in your six years of existence as a franchise.

OK back to Tkachuk, whose winner in Game 1 to stun Carolina was also filthy and was a merciful lighting of the lamp. Even the most diehard of Canes and P's fans were ready for bed by that point.

Shoutout Nate for blogging that. Our man is on the mend in case you didn't hear, so any good vibes or well wishes you can send his way would be greatly appreciated.

OK but I did promise a bonus…Tkachuk decided not to fuck around so much and wait almost four whole 20-minute extra periods to score tonight's winning goal, which rendered my blog about Aleksander Barkov's unbelievable, ultimate OT forcer obsolete. Got tied up with Lakers-Nuggets action as well.

So fuck it. Let's just run some of that text. Wayne Gretzky called the move Barkov used to set up Canes goalie Antti Raanta one of the best he's ever seen. Definitely worth your time/attention and focused eyeballs.

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Hard to argue with The Great One here. When you can impress Wayne Gretzky to this degree, you've done something extraordinary. Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov did this kind of between the legs sorcery to fake Canes goalie Antti Raanta out of his pads and notched the second-period equalizer.

And how about from this side view, a little reverse angle on Barkov's POV? Makes it even more impressive than seeing it live:

We now have the second Sunshine State pro team to rattle off two consecutive road victories in the Conference Finals. The Panthers are just killing it right now, and #HEATCulture is THRIVING. Florida native Brooks Koepka is also leading the PGA Championship through 54 holes. Hell of a 72ish hours for FLA sports.

But yeah…Matthew Tkachuk. Two OTGWGs ON THE ROAD in the Eastern Conference Final. Strangely promoted on TV and by the National Hockey League as singular. I'll never understand it. Whatever. Legendary stuff from Tkachuk, especially if the Panthers go on to lift Lord Stanley's Cup.

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Twitter @MattFitz_gerald/TikTok