Through just one game of the first-round series in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Florida Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk certainly has the attention of Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery.
The highly skilled Tkachuk, who tallied 109 points in the regular season off of 40 goals and 69 assists, potted the only goal for the Panthers in a Game 1 defeat to the Bruins at TD Garden.
Montgomery has a great deal of respect for Tkachuk and understands completely shutting out the 25-year-old is a virtually impossible task. But the Bruins bench boss is looking for his team to do a select few things in Game 2 to make it more difficult on Tkachuk to power the Panthers' offense.
"I don't think anything changed with my opinion of Matthew Tkachuk after (Game 1)," Montgomery told reporters Tuesday following an optional skate, per team-provided video. "I thought he was really good and I think he's a hell of a hockey player. He competes all over the ice. He gets to hard areas and that's the things that we look at.
"You're not going to deter him because his compete level is so high. But you're going to be able to try to take good body position and make sure he doesn't beat you to the net front. You're going to try to take good angles so you can take away time and space. And you're going to try to make him defend. The more time he spends in his own end, the further he is away from making plays at your own net."
Montgomery also credited the work of Charlie McAvoy and Dmitry Orlov along with Hampus Lindholm and Brandon Carlo for limiting the offensive opportunities of the Panthers. Montgomery said the way the Bruins track things, the Panthers had only "seven grade-A chances."
Boston will look for a similar defensive effort as they keep an eye on Tkachuk Wednesday in Game 2. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
