Sports

Tkachuk on Leafs-Bruins: ‘Knew it was probably going to be Boston’

May 5, 2024

During the first-round playoff series between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk had an inkling about who was going to come out on top.

Despite a furious comeback attempt from a 3-1 series deficit by the Maple Leafs, and a Game 7 that required overtime, Tkachuk always thought the Bruins would ultimately take the series and set up a second-round showdown with Florida.

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“Without this coming out too badly, I think we all knew it was probably going to be Boston the way that series was going.” Tkachuk told the media Sunday when asked about Saturday’s Game 7.

“I think throughout the whole series we were probably expecting they were going to come out and win it one way or another.”

Tkachuk’s hunch was proven right, of course, with the Bruins winning Saturday’s Game 7 courtesy of a David Pastrnak series winner in the first couple minutes of overtime.

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These two teams aren’t without their first-round playoff history. In 2018, the squads met with the Bruins coming out on top in seven games. In 2019, they met and once again the Bruins needed seven games to vanquish their division rival.

And well before both those series, before the current iteration of the “Core 4” Maple Leafs came to be, Boston and Toronto met in a seven-game series with Maple Leafs losing Game 7 in heart-breaking fashion after squandering a 4-1 third-period lead.

Losing to the Bruins in seven games obviously isn’t anything new to the Maple Leafs and their fans, but this year it may have felt a bit different.

This time, it was the Maple Leafs attempting a comeback. This time, past Bruins anchors Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci were not on the ice. This time, the Maple Leafs could seemingly keep their opponent off the scoreboard. This time, the Bruins were coming off blowing a 3-1 first-round series lead the year before to Tkachuk’s Panthers.

In sports however, some things do not change, and Tkachuk banked on that thought.

Now the Panthers will take on the Bruins in the playoffs for the second consecutive year, having used last year’s first-round win to springboard a run to the Stanley Cup Final.

Game 1 of Panthers-Bruins goes Monday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT from Sunrise, Fla.

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