Tkachuk was named the NHL's Third Star of the Week on Monday

The Florida Panthers may be taking some well-earned time off as the NHL approaches its annual All-Star break, but that doesn’t mean the good news has to stop coming in.

On Monday, the league named Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk its Third Star of the Week for games ending on Jan. 28.

In four games last week, all Panthers wins, Tkachuk logged four goals and eight points.

That included three multi-point outings, including a goal and an assist Monday in Nashville, two goals and an assist during Wednesday’s victory over the Coyotes in Sunrise.

Tkachuk then capped off the week with another goal and an assist in Saturday’s overtime win on Long Island, a night after he assisted on another Sam Reinhart power play goal during Florida’s shootout win in Pittsburgh.

Overall, it’s been quite a turnaround for Tkachuk since the holidays.

On Dec. 21, Tkachuk had 5 goals and 22 points in his first 32 games of the season.

In the 17 games since, well, things have been a bit of a blur, with Tkachuk racking up an eye-popping 11 goals and 29 points.

Law of averages?

It’s probably not a coincidence that as Tkachuk has gone, so have the Panthers.

After losing that game on Dec. 21 to the St. Louis Blues, the Panthers have what would be an NHL-best 13-2-2 record if not for those pesky Edmonton Oilers and their never-ending winning streak. So let's review:

On Dec. 21, the Panthers were 18-12-2 and Tkachuk had 22 points. Now, 17 games later, Florida is 31-14-4 and Tkachuk is up to 51 points.

Last season around this time Tkachuk was taking home NHL All-Star MVP honors on his home ice in South Florida.

He may not be playing in the annual showcase of superstars this year, but being named one of the league’s top three players heading into the break isn’t a bad consolation, especially when considering how both he and his team have been going for well over a month. 

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