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Matthew Tkachuk honestly evaluates Oilers and sends McDavid message before Stanley Cup Final
Photo credit: USA Today Sports
The Edmonton Oilers are set to face the Florida Panthers in a Stanley Cup Final rematch, and longtime rival Matthew Tkachuk has the utmost respect for his opponent.
The Oilers were underdogs heading into every playoff series this year, but are currently on a 12-2 run that's impossible to ignore - and has caught the attention of Tkachuk.
Matthew Tkachuk sends direct message to Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid
Matthew Tkachuk was interviewed on the Pat McAfee show for the first time since the Cup Final was secured, and he had to give props to his opponent. The Panthers star directly said Edmonton and Florida are the best two teams by far in the NHL.
Tkachuk recognized the 12-2 run as incredible, and also pointed to their incredible depth and solid goaltending performance as the reason behind the dominance.
I'm pretty familiar with them going back to my time in Calgary and seeing a lot of those players grow, playing against McDavid a ton. When you're playing against the best player in the world, he's always going to give you a challenge. It's not just him, they're a deep team.
- Matthew Tkachuk
- Matthew Tkachuk
The Florida Panthers play a lot of bizarre mind games in the media, but Tkachuk's respect of the Oilers actually seems genuine. He's clearly caught up on the changes of the team, and declared them far better than the Dallas Stars.
Not only that, but Tkachuk actually predicted the rematch last season. In the Cup Final handshake line, Tkachuk told McDavid he'd see him again next year.
The Panthers are a greasy team that finds any advantage they can to help them win, but they're clearly one of the best teams in the NHL. The Oilers know the challenge ahead of them as well, respect their opponent too, but are here to handle unfinished business.
| POLL | ||
MAI 30 | 1208 ANSWERS Matthew Tkachuk honestly evaluates Oilers and sends McDavid message before Stanley Cup Final Do you think the Oilers and Panthers are the two best teams by far in the NHL? | ||
| Yes, they're in a league of their own | 1004 | 83.1 % |
| No | 204 | 16.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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