Matthew Tkachuk said he saw the rematch coming.
Once the Panthers had finished dispatching the Lightning in five games in the first round of the playoffs, the Florida forward figured they’d be playing the Bruins for the second straight season.
Florida upset the top-seeded Bruins in seven games in the first round last year. The Maple Leafs tried to match their feat, but Tkachuk thought Boston would pull through.
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“Without this coming out too badly, I think we all knew it was probably going to Boston the way that series was going,” Tkachuk said on Sunday. “Playoffs you never know, but I think throughout the whole series we were probably expecting they were going to come out and win it one way or another.”
He was right of course. The Bruins lost Games 5 and 6 to the Maple Leafs force a Game 7, but Boston prevailed 2-1 in overtime to earn a trip south. Game 1 is Monday at 8 p.m. at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.
Tkachuk is rolling as the series begins. He had 26 goals and 62 assists for 88 points in 80 games during the regular season and has three goals and six assists so far in the playoffs. He had five goals and six assists against the Bruins in the postseason last year. In that series, he provoked, famously stoic Linus Ullmark into throwing punches his way.
