Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky speaks after Florida's 3-1 win over San Jose on Dec. 7. Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk has been on one heck of a heater lately. The 26-year-old who will be skating for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February has been scoring like hotcakes, and his team has been reaping the benefits. “His hands are just on fire right now,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “He’s done some great things with the puck, but it’s the other parts of his game that really drive us.” Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjE3OTM2NjIzMjQ4NDky/img_6014.jpg] Tkachuk is currently riding a six-game point streak in which he’s accumulated 15 points, but it was over the past week that he took things to another level. During Florida’s three games last week, Tkachuk put up an eye-popping five goals and 11 points. That’s why it came as absolutely no surprise to see Tkachuk named the NHL’s First Star of the Week on Monday. Nobody in the league had more goals, assists, points, power play goals or power play points than Tkachuk did over the past seven days. “Sometimes the puck finds you, sometimes it doesn’t,” Tkachuk said after scoring twice in Saturday’s win over San Jose. “You just have to keep working and prepare the same exact way, which I’m doing. I got a couple fortunate bounces tonight, which is always nice, but at the end of day, it doesn't matter if you're producing or not. You’ve just got to just be as dialed in with your preparation as you can, and help the team, whatever they ask.” Florida went 2-0-1 during the three games last week and are 5-0-1 during Tkachuk’s six-game point streak. They hit the road on Monday and will begin a five-game, 10-day road trip on Tuesday night in Seattle. We’ll see if Tkachuk can stay hot while out on the western side of the continent. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA 'It's been a lot of fun': Paul Maurice sets Panthers franchise mark for all-time coaching wins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/its-been-a-lot-of-fun-paul-maurice-sets-panthers-franchise-mark-for-all-time-coaching-wins] Three takeaways: Panthers play their way, goalies steal the show [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-panthers-play-their-way-goalies-steal-the-show] Tkachuk stays hot, Panthers take down San Jose 3-1 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/tkachuk-stays-hot-panthers-take-down-san-jose-3-1] Panthers make brief stop in Sunrise for battle with visiting Sharks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-make-brief-stop-in-sunrise-for-battle-with-visiting-sharks] Sergei Bobrovsky, Mackie Samoskevich returning to Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/sergei-bobrovsky-mackie-samoskevich-returning-to-panthers] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]
