Matthew Tkachuk has fingerprints all over Calgary Flames' victory over Dallas Stars
You could tell right from the first shift it was going to be Matthew Tkachuk's kind of game. Tkachuk's line with Elias Lindholm and Johnny Gaudreau started for the Calgary Flames and the scrappy winger got the fans into a frenzy by hitting everything in his path.
Tkachuk was in on the only goal of the game, helping set up Lindholm's power-play marker in the first.
He got into a scrap with Dallas Stars forward Michael Raffl at the end of the first period and had an amazing shift to end the game.
Tkachuk says in the post season you have to do whatever it takes.
"I enjoy playoff hockey and trying to make a difference, no matter which way that is," he said.
"Whether it's low-scoring games, and you've got to make a difference in more ways that just scoring. Fun games, playoff hockey is the best."
TKACHUK'S KIND OF GAME
Teammates like Noah Hanifin was certainly impressed by Tkachuk's effort. Hanifin says he set the tone in game one.
"Matthew, he's a leader on our team, and that's when he's playing his best hockey… when he gets that emotion going. He's a physical presence but he's also got so much skill and he can play any type of game, and I think he's definitely a player who is built for the playoffs."
WAR OF WORDS HAS BEGUN
Tkachuk wasn't the only Flames player to drop the mitts in game one; Rasmus Andersson scrapped with fellow Swedish defenceman John Klingberg at the end of the first.
Klingberg says he wasn't impressed and launched the first war of words.
"I was skating over to him and dropping my gloves and I wanted to go, but he's just standing there for two seconds and then he drops the gloves. I mean, he's acting a little tougher than he is, and we're going to go after him."
Tkachuk says he isn't sure what Klingberg meant by that comment.
FLAMES CAN HANDLE THEMSLEVES
"First of all, I don't even really know what that means, 'going after somebody,'" Tkachuk said.
"I think we've got enough guys that we can handle ourselves, guys outside of Raz (Andersson) who can handle themselves quite well."
"I don't think those guys are going to be fighting each other again in this series," added head coach Darryl Sutter.
HAVE TO BE EVEN BETTER IN GAME TWO
As happy as the Flames are to be up one game to nothing in the series, goaltender Jacob Markström, who earned the shutout, says they'll have to be even better in game two on Thursday night.
"For the most part we kept the puck in their end and we created more than they created and got rewarded with a 1-0 win, which is huge, but that's over with now, and we've got to look forward to Thursday night's game, which is going to be a huge challenge for us," he said.
Puck drop on Thursday is a little after 8 p.m. at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.