Matthew Tkachuk has 14 assists in seven games, and Maurice is right
The Panthers winger is second in the NHL in assists, and he's piling them up with less power-play time than he had on opening night.
Matthew Tkachuk has 16 assists this season, and 14 of them have come in his last seven games, by our count from NHL data. Paul Maurice said Tuesday that Matthew is better this year than he's ever been.
I'd go one step further: this is the most dangerous version of Matthew that Florida has ever had, and it's the passer, not the agitator, who's doing the damage.
He's at 4 goals and 20 points through 13 games. Only Connor McDavid has more assists in the league, per NHL data, and Adam Fox is the only other player sitting on 16. For a guy most people still file under "agitator," that's a point guard's stat line.
What Maurice sees
Maurice didn't start with the hockey sense when he was asked about the playmaking. He started with the hands.
"He doesn't tip pucks. He directs them," Maurice said. "Like he's putting them in a place, and I've seen him do it."
That's the whole season in two sentences, and it's why the assist column keeps filling while the goal column barely moves.
Look at the Brady goal in Winnipeg with under eight minutes left: Matthew puts the pass right on his brother's blade, and Brady only has to redirect it over Clay Stevenson's glove. That isn't a shot that got lucky on the way through. That's a pass aimed at a spot.
Maurice also said Matthew is faster than he's ever been, and he gave the reason plainly. This was the first summer in four where Matthew got to train instead of rehab.
Maurice called the margin five or six inches. On the half wall, five or six inches is the difference between a pass that gets picked off and a pass that ends up in the back of the net.
The number that matters
Here's the part I like most. The minutes aren't climbing at all. He played 16.8 on Tuesday and averages 19.0 a night, per NHL data, and his power-play time has dropped from 9.2 minutes on Oct. 1 to under six most nights. He's producing more while holding less of the clock.
He also has just 27 shots in 13 games, which tells you what he's hunting. It isn't his own goals. It's the next guy's.
Two nights show the run is real. He had five assists against Columbus on Oct. 13, then four more in the 5-1 win in Winnipeg, where he set up Sam Reinhart's power-play goal and the Brady dagger.
Lineup watch
With Brad Marchand out six weeks and Aleksander Barkov only two games into his return, Florida needs a forward who can drive a line by himself. Matthew is doing it from the right flank on the power play and by feeding his brother at even strength. The cats have 16 points through 13 games and have won two straight.
The Jets come to Sunrise on Friday for the first of three straight home games. Winnipeg just watched what he does with time and space, so expect them to give him less of both. I don't think it'll matter.
Pabs' read: Matthew used to be the guy who made you mad. Now he's the guy who makes everybody around him better, and that version is worth more to this team. I'll put him down for 30 assists before Thanksgiving.
