Panthers’ playoff success a bitter taste for Jonathan Huberdeau

Nobody (or rather, hardly anybody) saw the Florida Panthers getting to where they are now in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Even a few months ago, few people saw the Panthers making the playoffs, when they were in a position to increase the Montreal Canadiens’ chances of drafting first.

Those days are long gone.

You have to give the Panthers credit for getting their act together and overcoming a number of challenges to get to where they are today.

Paul Maurice’s team qualified for the playoffs by the skin of their teeth, and now find themselves two wins away from the Stanley Cup Final.

Watching the Panthers knock off the Boston Bruins (and their historic regular season) in the first round was absurd enough.

It was quite a feat, but then again, everyone saw the Panthers stopping after this incredible one-off success.

Well, no, they’re through to the conference semi-finals after beating the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs.

They now have a 2-0 lead in this semi-final series against the Hurricanes, thanks to another Matthew Tkachuk overtime win.

And this time, it didn’t take as long as Game 1, even for the celebration, as Tkachuk and his teammates can be seen rushing to the dressing room after the winning goal.

TKACHUK DOES IT AGAIN‼️

HE SCORES HIS SECOND STRAIGHT OT WINNER FOR FLORIDA! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/OYHt0C0v60

– NHL (@NHL) May 21, 2023

In any case, the Panthers players won’t have had time to break out the pizzas and Red Bulls between overtime periods like they did in Game 1.

In short, Matthew Tkachuk is one of the main reasons why the Florida Panthers are two wins away from the Stanley Cup Final.

From the moment he arrived in Florida in the monster trade with the Calgary Flames, Tkachuk established himself as the Panthers’ best player and a leader.

He’s proved it all the more, and let’s just say he’s “feeling” perfect happiness with the Panthers.

However, in a trade, there are always two sides to the coin, and in this case, the other side of the coin is darker.

Things didn’t go as planned or as desired for Jonathan Huberdeau in Calgary.

He had a very difficult and disappointing season, and missed the playoffs by a few points.

Huberdeau had just enjoyed his best season ever (30-85-115 in 80 games) with the Panthers (his only career team before the trade) and was happy in Florida.

So it was a drastic change for the Quebecer, who now finds himself on another team to see his Panthers have great success in the playoffs.

In fact, the main interested party said that it was clearly doing something to him.

It’s quite understandable that the Panthers’ current success is hurting Jonathan Huberdeau, who has given his all to this club, but has never been able to carry it like Matthew Tkachuk is currently doing.

In fact, seeing Tkachuk traded for him must leave Huberdeau even more bitter.

Huberdeau would have loved to be part of the Panthers’ playoff run, but unfortunately, he can only be a supporter, given that the Calgary Flames missed the playoffs.

I ask you seriously now: are the Panthers where they are now with Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar on their team rather than Matthew Tkachuk?

My answer is no, and I don’t even think the Panthers will ever move up the standings to qualify for the playoffs without Tkachuk.

He really is an IT factor.

In short, the Panthers now return home with a 2-0 lead in their semi-final series. They could end the series at home.

Stay tuned.

In a gust

– That’s a good one.

– The incredible Matthew Tkachuk.

– Two similar journeys between the Panthers and the Heat.

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