Matthew Tkachuk/Anton Lundell: Florida Panthers Play Game 6 of Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday

Matthew Tkachuk/Anton Lundell: Florida Panthers Play Game 6 of Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday

and Anton are here to take your questions if you have a question please raise your hand wait for the microphone we’ll start front left jameson uh Matthew obviously not an unfamiliar spot for you guys to be and just how much can you guys lean on last year’s experience as you head into a big game six here yeah we have that advantage um you know playing an elimination game at home here again in the situation uh it’s no secret cups in the building it’s going to be the toughest test u biggest game um we’re just excited to be back home and we’re excited to hopefully keep that going after after last game we think we’ve played pretty good hockey over the last uh well this whole series and the whole playoffs but especially the last few so um we know this the type of game we have to play and have to and you know our starts important and just building our game um hard gaps heavy for check um on it and above it all all the stuff we talk about all year it’s it’s going to be uh the simple the better for us in these games and I’m glad we have that experience front right Jordan uh Matthew we’ve talked about how much Bob has meant to you guys over these last three plays just his sense of calm in the room just how much does it radiate among you guys and how much is his presence just knowing how calm he is and what he does how much does that radiate throughout the room yeah like we would not be in this position um without him he’s been you just look at the body of work he’s done over the last since I’ve been here regular season and postseason he’s been he’s been our backbone he’s been you know the most important piece for us and he’s just been incredible each and every night gives us a chance every single night whether you know even if you look back to to game two of the series you know we did not play very well in front of him in the first 10 minutes and they score three goals and he just shuts the door the rest of the way basically so we’re so lucky to have him um he is such a very important piece to what we have and then his calmness and how he works and how he prepares and even the stuff he’s doing there today like he’s just uh such a professional and somebody that I I lean on a lot and I’ve learned so much from even though he’s a goalie all the way on the left george this this one’s for both of y’all u does it matter where you guys play i mean you know it’s going to be crazy in there tomorrow but you guys seem to be pretty good at quieting down uh road crowds yeah uh you know we don’t really try to think where we are where we play uh but you know obviously it’s fun to be at home uh have the home energy have the home crowd and you know be able to play in front of them so uh I’m sure it’s going to be a lot of building and we’re looking forward for it yeah I’m I’m excited to play at home it’s it’s a great opportunity and and our fans uh have uh given us so much uh love and support and momentum this year that you know they deserve this type of game at home so we’re excited to play in front of them front left David hey guys it could be for either of you uh you guys have scored multiple goals in the first period of every game this series how important has that been sort of to dictate the tempo of the game and make them chase you they’ve barely led throughout this series yeah I mean it’s huge to start well and uh obviously we we want to you know keep doing that but at the same time it’s uh it’s a long game and uh we’ve been seeing during the series uh that we have to play good the whole whole you know 60 minutes and uh obviously we want to have a good start and you know feel good and you know keep building on that but at the same time we have to be be dialed for the whole 60 minutes right side third row matthew uh miked up for the last game they posted the video i think you said “Oh my god,” like seven times watching Marian score his second of the night like what did you appreciate the most about the show he put on in that game yeah well both goals no he’s been he’s been amazing for us all playoffs but uh especially in this finals he he seems to keep finding other gear um the more important the game the better he is so um you know that that second goal was uh incredible just the way he was able to make that move protect the puck and then have the presence of mind to still make a move on the goalie and slip it five but I thought that his first goal even you know just I don’t know his first few strides off the off the drop of the puck and then to make that little move and then to split the D and just go top shelf i thought that one was just as good if not better so uh what a performance from him and you know we’re going to need another good one to to finish this off stay in that same row right side third row uh Matthew um you know every time we talk to you guys win or loss uh the word recovery comes out of all your mouths um you know this is 316 games I believe for you guys tomorrow night or you know how how do you do it how grueling is it what does recovery entail and and just I mean is it as a grind as as we all would assume it it is a grind probably probably worse than anybody could uh can imagine not going to give away our recovery secrets because then some other teams might think that they could be in this position but uh you know we we that is a very important part of what we do um and and yeah it it’s just it’s so important that once the game’s over win or lose you know you win and you learn um we’ve talked about that a lot and then on days when you’re not playing like get away from the game um get your body back to as close to you know as good as you can get it for the next game that’s very important we do so many different things um at home on the road but that that’s a big that’s a big thing for us and and we’ve been preaching it for pretty close to three years now and uh it’s helped us a lot and it’s been a it’s been a great uh you know very big reason why we continue to have success deep into the playoffs and then you know come back after a few months and are able to get right back in the swing of things so it’s important our our team does a really good job of of training really hard um in the summer very well conditioned group and then you know dealing with the the the aches and the pains of long playoff runs and we do a really good job of those days in between games of getting back to to how we need to be right side second row anton I know it’s a fiveman thing to to play against a guy against like uh McDavid but what do you what can you learn watching Barkov playing when he’s matched against him and people focus on how many points he has but it doesn’t seem like that matters to him it’s more about what he’s doing you know helping other ways yeah I mean just watching Bark is uh he’s always fun you know he he’s uh such a great player and you know doesn’t seem that he does a lot of mistakes on dice so uh you know you can learn a lot from him uh but just the way he plays you know he’s hard to play against his stick is very long you know he’s uh always on the on the other guys but just all the small details he does during the games it’s uh very impressive we’ll take three more questions left side standing up matthew in your experience is the fourth one the toughest to get in a series and is Edmonton a different animal even in that regard yeah I think when you go through a bunch of playoff series like we have and and I have you know it most of the time it is the toughest one um there Ion’s obviously one of if not the best teams that I’ve played um in my career in playoffs so I’m sure it’s going to be a very tough one um you know I think it’s important when you’re playing a team that you know their their backs are against the wall there’s it’s important to come out with a good start both sides i know everybody says that each and every game but I think if you can get to your game right away um the team that settles in the quickest you know seems to be the one that has a lot of success and you know they’re they’re in you know a different situation right now i think this is their first elimination game of the playoffs so you know that that’s a different uh wrinkled things and and you know for us we’ve played one game seven so maybe we’re a little maybe have a tiny advantage with knowing the desperation that they’re going to come out with but you know we have to match that desperation you know we have we have to treat this you know as a as a game seven for us too and you know if we’re going to have a chance of beating them we’ll take two more in English right side second row Matthew can you just sort of take us through what this playoffs has been like for you been out since February you come back at the start of the playoffs and just sort of what these four rounds have been like from your perspective um uh yeah I didn’t know if I was going to come back at the start and kind of found out the day before I was going to have a chance to play um day of honestly um decided like even though I wasn’t you know the first round was definitely the worst I felt by far and just knowing that that was going to be you know other than this round that was our toughest round um playing Tampa so I knew that even at you know nowhere close to what I expected out of myself I knew I needed to help out as best I can if we were going to get by them so was proud of myself and happy for playing that round and and you know I had some ups and downs throughout the playoffs and and now I’m I’m feeling the best I felt so personally I’m I’m very happy with where um the health is and and everything and just very lucky that I’m able to be playing i I did not think I was going to be playing um I I I wouldn’t say that i thought there was maybe a 50% chance I wouldn’t be playing um as close to you know about a week or five days before playoff i’m very lucky and fortunate that I’ve got great trainers and doctors and they all somehow got me healthy enough to play last question in English left side second row uh Matthew you said the orders are backs through the wall what’s it like playing against the best player in the world whose back is against the wall McDavid who is desperate to win a Stanley Cup yeah well it’s going to be a tough test you know he’s desperate to win a cup so are we you know we’ve it’s you know we’ve worked so hard this year and and uh gone through so many ups and downs and so much uh um you know it’s been a grueling year it’s been a a tough you know guys fighting through injuries guys you know up and down years and you know for us to be in this position right now like we’ve worked so hard for this and so is he and the rest of the rest of the Oilers as well you know we’re all here for a reason but you know he’s he’s obviously a talent like nobody else in the league so it’s so hard to to to shut him down i don’t even I don’t think you can shut him down you can just try to limit as much as as much as you can so we’ve got guys in there that I uh I hope are ready for the challenge because it’s going to be it’s going to be a big test for us and we’re all ready for it thank you Matthew if you want to step aside you may thanks for your time we’ll take one question and finish all the way in the back of the room foreign and one more on the right side thank you for your time Anton panthers had

Florida Panthers Matthew Tkachuk and Anton Lundell meet the media in Fort Lauderdale after a light practice before Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday, June 16, 2025, at the IcePlex.

The Panthers hold a 3-2 series lead and are a win away from repeating as Stanley Cup champions.

Game 6 of the Cup Final is Tuesday in Sunrise at 8 (TNT).

On Monday, Five Panthers were announced to their country’s Olympic teams: Sasha Barkov (Finland), Matthew Tkachuk (US), Sam Reinhart (Canada), Uvis Balinskis (Latvia), and Nico Sturm (Germany).

The Panthers Are Back in the Cup Final: https://floridahockeynow.com/florida-panthers-5-carolina-hurricanes-3-game-5-ecf-may-28-2025-back-to-stanley-cup-final/

How Brad Marchand Joined the Florida Panthers: https://floridahockeynow.com/brad-marchand-joins-florida-panthers-how-it-happened-nhl-trade-bruins/

2024 Stanley Cup Champions Honored at the White House: https://floridahockeynow.com/stanley-cup-champion-florida-panthers-honored-at-white-house/

Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning Bringing Hockey Outdoors – In Florida: https://floridahockeynow.com/nhl-outdoor-hockey-miami-tampa-florida-panthers-lightning/

The Florida Panthers Get Their Rings. They’re Spectacular: https://floridahockeynow.com/florida-panthers-get-stanley-cup-championship-rings-theyre-spectacular/

The Florida Panthers Are Stanley Cup Champions: https://floridahockeynow.com/can-you-believe-it-florida-panthers-are-stanley-cup-champs/

Saturday, the Panthers led 2-0 in the first off goals from Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett.

Marchand got his second in the third, with Sam Reinhart and Eetu Luostarinen closing the scoring for Florida.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 19 saves.

Florida is 10-3 on the road this postseason and 2-1 in Edmonton — so far.

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Video Courtesy Florida Panthers / Panther Vision