Tkachuk enters the 4 Nations tournament on a major heater

The Florida Panthers, and the rest of the NHL, are officially on break.

Well, most of them.

While many of the league’s players will be taking the next couple weeks for some much needed and well-earned rest, relaxation and recouperation, a select fraction will be participating in the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off.

That includes an NHL-high eight players from the Panthers roster.

They are Sasha Barkov, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola for Team Finland, Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart for Team Canada, Gus Forsling for Team Sweden and Matthew Tkachuk for Team USA.

Each of the players has been getting ready for 4 Nations in their own way, but one thing that has been cool to see is when they’ve broken in their national colored gear.

This post isn’t about just any hockey pants or gloves, though.

Earlier this week, the Panthers social media team posted a video showing off an attractive pair of custom Team USA Bauer Vapor HyperLite skates.

They’ve got three white stars on the back and a layered, textured blue wrapping around the sides.

You can check out the Panthers social media video below: 

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/reel:DF03f5zpGvE[/embed]

Tkachuk is probably the hottest player entering the 4 Nations tournament.

He's scored in six straight games and has 16 points over his past eight outings. 

One thing that would be very fun to watch would be if Tkachuk is put on a line with his brother, Brady. 

The two siblings faced off on Saturday night in Sunrise, each lighting the lamp and combining for 19 shots on 24 attempts. 

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