Matthew Tkachuk makes bold admission ahead of championship game against ‘biggest rival’ Canada at 4 Nations (Credits: IMAGN)

Matthew Tkachuk has participated in several massive games in his hockey career. The Florida Panthers star has been to two consecutive Stanley Cup Finals (2023 and 2024), and he and his team won one of them.

It required Game 7 and a thwarting of a historic comeback by the Edmonton Oilers; that game remains the biggest Tkachuk has played in. Other than that, the forward boldly said that the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off final is his biggest game yet.

“At the end of the day, you know, Stanley Cup, maybe game seven aside, this is probably the biggest game that we’ve all played up until this point,” Tkachuk said, “So, you know, I think that we have 23 guys in there that will be absolutely everything they can for this game on Thursday. And we are so excited for this opportunity, and very, you know, very thankful that we have this chance at home playing our biggest rival.”

Tkachuk said the fact that Team USA already beat Canada in Montreal is irrelevant moving forward. It’s “up to one game” now, so the past doesn’t matter. The Panthers star called it a fresh start and added that his team “can’t wait for this opportunity.”

Matthew Tkachuk did not play in Monday night’s 1-2 loss against Sweden due to precautionary measures, but he is anticipated to be fully ready for Thursday’s final.

Matthew Tkachuk details Team USA’s biggest strength in 4 Nations Face-Off

Team USA has dominated in the 4 Nations Face-Off. They rested a few players in the round-robin finale against Sweden, which led to their only loss of the tournament. In their three games, they’ve outscored opponents 10-4.

Matthew Tkachuk has led Team USA to the 4 Nations Play-off final (Credits: IMAGN)

Matthew Tkachuk has been instrumental in that. He said the team’s biggest strength isn’t necessarily a dominant goalie like Connor Hellebuyck or an active front line.

“I think that our biggest strength right now has been sacrifice and how close we become as a team, okay? And I don’t know if that’s necessarily something that we have to learn from now until then,” Tkachuk said.

Tkachuk emphasized that Team USA must continue developing and building chemistry, as this has been their “secret weapon.” He acknowledged the challenges of players from various backgrounds forming a cohesive unit and assuming new roles but noted that all 23 roster members have managed to do so.