It’s big brother notching MVP
Matthew Tkachuk takes NHL All-Star Game honor at home playing with Brady.
SUNRISE, Fla. — Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk was right at home at the NHL All-Star Game.
Again.
Detroit’s Dylan Larkin had a hat trick, Toronto’s Mitch Marner had three assists and the Atlantic Division topped the Central Division 7-5 in the All-Star Game final on Saturday.
All-Star Game most valuable player Matthew Tkachuk — playing alongside his younger brother Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators — had seven points on the day, after a record five-point outburst in a semifinal win over the Metropolitan Division. Larkin had five goals in the Atlantic’s two games.
And for the MVP, winning in front of Panthers fans meant more than just winning.
“It’s been an honor to play in front of them this whole year and it’s great that the other players in the league can see what a great place this is to play,” Matthew Tkachuk said. “I’m as happy as can be here.”
The brothers, the 11th set
of siblings to be All-Star teammates, each had a goal in the semifinal game. And Brady assisted on Matthew’s goal in the final.
“We’ve always dreamt of playing with each other one way or the other,” Matthew Tkachuk said. “We thought that the best chance would be a Team USA thing at one point because I was in the West forever and he was in the Atlantic, so we never really thought this was a possibility.”
It was the first time the Atlantic won the All-Star Game, after six previous tries in the divisional format.
“It was so much fun,” Larkin said. “I’m proud of how we won it. What a great group of guys it was just a great weekend.”
Matthew Tkachuk has now been on the winning team in both of his All-Star appearances, and both times, he enjoyed the comforts of home. He helped the Pacific win the 2020 All-Star title in St. Louis, his hometown and one of the many spots that his father — Keith Tkachuk, who was in the crowd Saturday — played during his career.
“I’ve been very fortunate, the two that I’ve been in that I know the ins and the outs of everything that goes on away from the rink,” Matthew Tkachuk said. “It just made it so much more comfortable for me and extra special.”
And this one truly had home-ice advantage. Matthew Tkachuk had three goals and two assists in the Atlantic’s 10-6 win over the Metropolitan in the second semifinal.
Longtime rivals Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin took advantage of being teammates, with Ovechkin setting up Crosby for two goals for the Metropolitan’s lone game.
“I think we have fun to play together, not against each other,” Ovechkin said. “Right now, we was on the same team, and it was pretty special, pretty good moment.”
In the Pacific’s 6-4 loss to the Central, the Kings’ Kevin Fiala had an assist. Pacific teammate Troy Terry of the Ducks did not record a point.