Matthew Tkachuk will play in Game 5, regardless of consequences

With his team facing elimination in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, Matthew Tkachuk will have to play through injury against the Vegas Golden Knights. Tkachuk and Jonathan Marchessault share the lead for most points (24) in the postseason.

Video Transcript

OMAR: When you're at that spot, is the team better having Matthew Tkachuk at, like, 60%, versus, like, fill in player at 100%? Like, who helps you win the most at that point?

JULIAN MCKENZIE: That's true.

OMAR: And a lot of coaches will say, like, oh, no, I'll take the player at 60%, or whatever, because of what they've done so far, and, like, to this point, Matthew Tkachuk has been, like, a Conn Smythe favorite, if not the Conn Smythe favorite. So it's like, if you're Paul Maurice, we know he's going to probably, like, get him into play, but, like, it's a question you have to ask. Like, are the Panthers' chances of winning better if they just have someone who can fill in at 100%, versus trying to get Matthew Tkachuk to play, when, obviously, he's not healthy enough to practice, or skate, or who knows?

JULIAN MCKENZIE: With Matthew Tkachuk, right, like, the biggest part of his game is him being a disturber. Like, he needs to be in front of the net. He needs to be causing a ruckus. And I know he still tried to do that at the end of the last game, but if he's not in a position where he's 100% healthy enough to do that, like, how effective is that going to be? Like, he's going to be a banger and masher, and if he's not at a point where he can do that confidently, I don't know what you do.

At the same time, like, he has been so instrumental in getting the team to that point. Like, I don't know, like, you have to try something, and, like, Matthew Tkachuk, at the end of the day, that's a guy who I think, if he didn;t give it the full go to try to play, he would never forgive himself. Like, it's an elimination game. Like, unless, like, maybe you do have dental floss keeping your shoulders together, like, all right, maybe you play through it. But, also, the culture of trying to play through crazy injuries is really nuts.

OMAR: Yeah, I remember I used to be like, wow, that's so cool, like, hearing all those, like, end-of-season tweets, and now, reading it, it's like, that's kind of messed up, I don't know.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: You're cutting your career by a couple of years.

OMAR: It's like, maybe you could have taken a seat there. I don't know.