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Matthew Tkachuk scored the series-clinching goal in Game 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday to help the Florida Panthers win their first Eastern Conference Championship since 1996. He was seen touching the Prince of Wales trophy after the win, stating that he was not bothered by the superstitious nature of doing so.
It has been a long-standing phenomenon in the NHL that many players in the league avoid touching the ECF trophy because there is a superstitious belief that touching it will bring bad luck in the Stanley Cup final.
Florida Panthers star Mattew Tkachuk completely disregarded this superstition. Following the series-clinching win over the Carolina Hurricanes, Tkachuk gave an interview in which he emphasized that the team have earned the ECF trophy and that being superstitious about not touching it will be the last thing on their mind. He said:
"The last thing that we're going to do is be superstitious about not touching it...We earned that thing."
The Florida Panthers face the Dallas Stars or Vegas Golden Knights in the 2023 Stanley Cup final. Currently, the Vegas Golden Knights are leading the series 3-1.
Matthew Tkachuk spoke about his trade to Florida Panthers after winning the Eastern Conference Finals
Matthew Tkachuk was one of the key players who helped the struggling Florida Panthers make the playoffs. He was traded from the Calgary Flames to the Florida Panthers during the offseason last year.
The 25-year-old spoke about his trade in a post-game interview on NHLonTNT and said that he really wanted to be part of the Florida Panthers. He said:
"Well, I think at first he was just like, surprised that, you know, like that was like an option, I think. And once, once we figure it all out, like, I rented to come here, and his vision is something that intrigued and, and, I mean, it's an opportunity to, to throw out that, you know, he was one of the gms of, you know, one of the gyms of the year, and I was very fortunate to deal with another unbelievable guy in Calgary and Brad Treliving loving and, and we were able to get that worked out and come in here. "
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