2023 Stanley Cup playoffs - What we've heard through Round 1 - ESPN

The second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is underway after a memorable — and, frankly, wild — first two weeks. I've spent that time traversing the East Coast, spending hours at the rinks and having conversations with players, coaches, front-office executives and people around the game. Here's some info I've gleaned:

• The Toronto Maple Leafs-Florida Panthers series will pit the two most electric American players against each other: Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk. And they're seemingly at full strength, which wasn't the case all season. Matthews' production dipped following his 2021-22 MVP campaign, but a large part of that was because of a hand injury he nursed and played through earlier in the season.

When I asked Sheldon Keefe about it last round, the Leafs coach admitted his star center had some discomfort in the wrist and hand, but said he also thought it put a mental block on Matthews. Once it healed, the coaching staff noticed Matthews' skating became freer and faster. Entering the playoffs, Keefe said Matthews «looks like a guy who is ramping up, and perhaps knows that it was worth saving himself for now, which is the most important time for our team.»

There's no doubt Tkachuk was getting under the skin of Bruins players in the first round — heck, goalie Linus Ullmark, who was on my ballot for the Lady Byng, almost got into a fight with him. But Tkachuk proved this season he is most effective when he dials it back. In his first 34 games with the Panthers, Tkachuk had 17 minor penalties (59 penalty minutes). As the team made its big push after the All-Star break, especially from March on, Tkachuk was dialed in. Over the past five weeks of the season, Tkachuk had just six penalties while scoring 28 points