After winning Game 5 in Boston while facing elimination, Tkachuk told his teammates they'd be back for Game 7. He was right.
The Florida Panthers incredible run to the Stanley Cup Final caught almost everyone by surprise.
It’s not often an eight-seed that squeaked into the playoffs by a single point goes on to upset some of the top teams in the league, including the best regular season team in league history.
Extended playoff runs are hard enough to capture, but to do so while taking on the kind gauntlet Florida had to maneuver through is quite impressive.
Early on, though, it looked like the Panthers playoff lives would be snuffed out in short order.
Facing the big bad Boston Bruins in round one, Florida was playing a team that finished 43 points higher in the standings. That's kind of insane.
The gap between the Panthers and the worst team in the league, Anaheim, was smaller.
To beat Boston would have been the upset of all upsets, and when the Bruins won Game 3 and 4 on the road to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series, the Panthers prospects of pulling off said upset seemed bleak.
Not that anyone in the Cats locker room felt that way.
Backs against the wall, odds stacked against them…that was the Panthers comfort zone.
They showed up in Game 5 and looked every bit the part of a stress-free underdog, taking a first period lead and never trailing in the game despite the Bruins tying the score on three separate occasions.
Never deterred or wavering in their belief, the Panthers ultimately conquered Boston in overtime when Matthew Tkachuk ended the game just 6:05 into the extra frame.
His patience on the play was next level, corralling a rebound in front of the net and then holding on to the puck long enough for Burins goalie Linus Ullmark to sprawl himself out of the way before firing a backhand into the yawning cage.
A huge, season-saving play at the time, it was just the first of several massive, monumental goals that Tkachuk would score for Florida during the postseason.
But it was he said to his teammates after the game that made this such a memorable, seminal moment.
While celebrating the win in the visiting locker room at TD Garden, Tkachuk was given the game puck.
He lifted it high above his head and addressed his fellow Panthers.
“Boys, remember this room," Tkachuk said. "We’ll be back here for seven.”
The rest, as we all know, is history.
The Panthers did return for Game 7, pulling off a thrilling comeback victory, once again in overtime, which propelled them on an incredible 11-1 stretch that led straight through the Eastern Conference playoff bracket and into the Stanley Cup Final.
It was a special experience, one that will remembered fondly by the players, coaches and fans for a long, long time.
Thinking back to all the pivotal, key moments, "We'll be back here for seven" always stands out.
Considering what Tkachuk was able to do in his first season, and first postseason, as a member of the Panthers, it makes you wonder what else he may have in store.
Tkachuk, after all, is under contract through the end of the decade.
I don't know about you, but I'll have my popcorn ready.