Matthew Tkachuk Says Panthers Have 'Probably' the Hardest Road to Stanley Cup Ever

It's not lost on Matthew Tkachuk that his run with the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final is one of the more improbable ones in NHL history given the road that they've taken to get there.

In fact, he wears it proudly. And now, he's looking to finish off this all-time postseason in style with a win over the Vegas Golden Knights and hoist up his first Stanley Cup.

"We didn't do it the easy way, that's for sure," Tkachuk said at Stanley Cup Final media day in Las Vegas. "For us to knock off this juggernaut in Vegas, it would probably be the hardest road to the Stanley Cup in history. So that's our goal is to knock off this team and see if we can make history."

Much like the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, the Panthers barely made it into the postseason. The drama went down to the final day of the regular season and they managed to scrape in by one point.

But their hopes didn't look bright at the time anyway as they were set to face the Boston Bruins, who had the best regular season in NHL history with 135 points. But even after going down 3-1 in the series, Florida still found a way to win it in seven games in the most dramatic of circumstances.

It then went on to take down the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games and swept the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals to advance to the franchise's first Stanley Cup Final since 1996.

The Panthers have taken down three 100-point teams. If they eliminate Vegas, they would be the third team in NHL history to eliminate four.

And Tkachuk has been the main catalyst in all of it. He has scored 21 goals in 16 postseason games, including three overtime game-winning goals.

"There's no luck in his game," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said of his star. "He doesn't come to the rink hoping, 'Oh, that unbelievable play I made last night, I hope it doesn't disappear on me.' He's done this all year. ... This isn't something new to Florida. He's been that player."

In his first season with the Panthers, Tkachuk has been heaven-sent for the organization. And now he'll be hoping to deliver a title to South Florida and lift the franchise to unprecedented heights.

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final is set for Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET on TNT.