Tkachuk leads the Panthers in shots but is operating at a career-worst 4.0 shooting percentage

The Florida Panthers find themselves with a record of 15-8-2 after 25 games of the 2023-24 season, five points behind the Boston Bruins for first place in the Atlantic Division.

The foundation from their run to the Stanley Cup Final of being defensively oriented has carried over to this season. It does however, come with some sacrifices on the offensive end of the ice.

The Panthers are currently 19th in the NHL in goals per game. Forwards Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe have done most of the scoring, as Reinhart has 17 goals while Verhaeghe has 12.

Florida had two 40-goal scorers last season and one 30-goal scorer. Two of them are the forwards who are currently leading the team in goals. There is one forward of that group who is not having the same production as the prior season.

Forward Matthew Tkachuk, through 25 games, has four goals and is currently holding a shooting percentage of 4.0%. His previous career low was 9.2%, and that came during his rookie season in 2016-17 with the Calgary Flames.

The good news is, he is tied for second on the Panthers in assists with 15 and leads the team with 100 shots on goal.

In Florida’s 4-3 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday, Tkachuk cut the Panthers deficit to one with a wrister from the right circle at the 13:14 mark of the second period to make it 3-2 Islanders. It was not enough as they never had a lead and lost their third straight game at home.

That was Tkachuk’s first goal in his last 10 games, so being credited with a goal after a drought and still being in the game would be something that Tkachuk would feel great about, right?

Not quite.

"I get that. I've never worried about it, just the puck wasn't going in for me.” Tkachuk said on Tuesday after practice. “But at the end of the day, it doesn't really feel that great because it came in a loss. So I'm hoping that I can get a few more here in some wins."

The combination of scoring a goal and winning has happened twice this season for Tkachuk.

Tkachuk and the Panthers care about one thing, winning. The team lost in Boston on October 30th in overtime after having a 2-0 lead, eventually losing 3-2. The team was not happy with getting a single point.

The standard is different in South Florida, and for the star forward.

Thankfully for Tkachuk, there are 57 games left in the season and the team is at its healthiest.

His linemate Sam Bennett has been back for 12 games after missing time with a lower-body injury. As we mentioned earlier, his other linemate, Verhaeghe, has 12.

The Panthers second line at five on five possesses the puck over 60% of the time and has a goal differential of plus-1.

Let’s also not forget what Tkachuk brings to the table that does not show up on the stat sheet: energy.

That was a key term that the NHL on TNT Studio Crew’s Henrik Lundqvist used during the pregame show before the Panthers’ 5-4 victory over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday Night.

Although Florida’s power play is not clicking at a high rate, with Tkachuk out on the ice, he is still a threat from a familiar spot, the front of the net. It’s not only to takes the eyes away from opposing goaltenders, but it’s also led to redirections.

Even if his deflections do not go into the back of the net, it puts goaltenders under duress where, if the Panthers are faster to retrieving the puck, the defense would have a harder time getting in position and another teammate can take advantage of knocking in a rebound into the open net or a quick cycle back to the point where Tkachuk himself can set another screen.

Florida’s 15-8-2 record puts them in a manageable spot despite the four goals by Tkachuk.

Although his goal pace for the season has him north of 13, the American forward is confident more will be on the way and that he himself will be above that pace.

For now, he is enjoying the Panthers being in a comfortable spot record-wise, as opposed having zero room for error when the calendar hit January of 2023 last season.

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