Brady Tkachuk has 11 shots and no points, and that's fine
Florida's new power forward leads the team in shots through four games. The zeros are a power-play problem, not a Brady problem.
Brady Tkachuk has played four games as a Panther and hasn't found the scoresheet once. I'm not worried. I'd be worried if he weren't shooting, and he's shooting more than anybody on the team.
That's the whole read. The finish will come. The question is whether Florida's power play comes with it.
The number
11 shots, 0 points. That's Brady through four games, by our count, and the 11 shots lead the Panthers. Sam Reinhart is right behind him with 10 shots and no points of his own, on 22 minutes a night, per NHL data.
Two of the most dangerous finishers Florida has dressed, 21 shots between them, zero points. That's not a slump yet. That's four games of the puck finding pads instead of twine.
Why I'm not panicking on Brady
Watch where his shots come from. He doesn't live on the perimeter. He goes to the blue paint, plants himself in front of the goalie and makes every defenseman in the zone deal with him, which is exactly the kind of net-front work that eventually turns into ugly, greasy goals.
That's the job Florida traded three first-round picks and a second for in June, and he's doing the job.
The minutes say Maurice agrees. Brady has played 16.6, 19.6, 16.0 and 17.2 minutes, and he's had at least 5.8 minutes of power-play time every night, per NHL data. Coaches don't keep feeding a guy power-play minutes for four straight games if they think he's lost, and Maurice has never been shy about moving a player who isn't earning it.
And it's been a weird four games to judge anybody. Barkov went down in San Jose and is out six to eight weeks. Marchand got hurt in L.A. and is day-to-day. The lines have been a moving target since the second game, and a new guy is still learning where his brother and Reinhart want the puck.
What actually has to change
The goals will come at even strength. I'd bet on that. The power play is the part that needs fixing, because that's where Brady and Reinhart should be feasting.
Florida is 1-for-23 on the man advantage, the number I flagged after the road trip. With Brady, Matthew and Reinhart all logging heavy power-play minutes, there's no excuse for one goal on 23 chances. Somebody has to get the puck to the front faster and stop passing up the shot for the pretty play.
Matthew, for the record, has a point in three straight games. Lars Eller and Sam Bennett are on three-game point streaks too. The cats aren't starving. Two of their best shooters just haven't eaten yet.
The home opener
Saturday against Minnesota at 6 p.m. is Brady's first regular-season game in Sunrise as a Panther. The building will be loud, the crowd will want a goal from the new guy, and he'll want one more than anybody sitting in the seats.
He's going to get it. A guy who fires 11 shots in four games doesn't stay off the board long.
Pabs' read: Brady's fine. Reinhart's fine. The power play is the problem. Fix the 1-for-23 and the zeros next to both names disappear in a week. Dale.
