Imagine this: It’s Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final, and your opponents just scored the equalizer with under a minute left in the third period. How do you think that affects a team? Well, ask the St. Louis Blues, who fell apart after the Winnipeg Jets’ Cole Perfetti scored the equalizer with 1.6 seconds on the clock and then lost in Double OT. Yet, that wasn’t the case for the Cats if you believe Matthew Tkachuk.

While the Edmonton Oilers took the Panthers to double overtime, Florida would be the ones winning it this time, unlike Game 1. And the biggest reason behind it could be the team’s attitude ahead of OT. The Panthers’ alternate captain confessed that he and the rest of the team were super relaxed heading into such a high-stakes overtime. Tkachuk said the guys were “hooting and hollering” instead of being nervous.

In fact, they were playing a game of ‘who will score during overtime?’ in the locker room. “A lot of guys had Marchy,” said Matthew Tkachuk. Naturally, the media looked to coach Paul Maurice for some additional insight into his team’s supreme confidence. “Yeah, it’s not new. I think experience… That’s wholly overvalued in the world. But I think in kind of playoff hockey, there’s a great value to it,” Maurice told reporters.

The coach also explained how that positive locker room vibe actually alleviated whatever tension may have built up in the roster. “Hearing that kind of positive idea. Nobody’s crushed about it. Nobody’s trying to kill who missed the puck on the last goal. They’re not looking to blame anybody,” explained coach Maurice, hinting at how that helped the team get the job done in overtime.

In fact, Coach Maurice, Matthew Tkachuk, and the rest of the Panthers remained calm even after the Game 1 loss. The alternate captain brushed off concerns with an unusual coolness ahead of Game 2. “It is what it is. Back to the drawing board; just try to play better than them tomorrow,” the NHL star said during the presser. And that’s exactly what the Florida Panthers did. And the result of not blaming a player for one mistake was also on full display during Game 2.

Matthew Tkachuk and Co. are one tightly-knit unit

Besides praising his team’s confidence under pressure, coach Paul Maurice tipped his hat to Cats’ forward Tomas Nosek. After all, Matthew Tkachuk’s teammate’s miscue cost them dearly during overtime in Game 1. It led to the power play where Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl combined to score the winning goal. While Nosek took it hard, Coach Maurice focused on the positive.

“Just reminded him after the game of being down 0-2 to Toronto, and that line came in and changed everything for us,” the Stanley Cup-winning coach said post-game. And he wasn’t the only one who didn’t go hard on Nosek.

“That stuff happens in the game of hockey,” said Brad Marchand, who scored the game-winning goal during the double overtime.

The result of all this support was that Nosek played with confidence. While the forward didn’t score any goals or even notch a point, he didn’t let anything slip by him this time.

And another reason behind Matthew Tkachuk and the rest of the Panthers’ confidence is familiarity. Besides the experience Paul Maurice talked about, they are well aware that the Oilers are out for revenge. In fact, the 27-year-old explained that his team is prepared to weather the storm and wear down the Oilers while discussing the then-upcoming series on the Pat McAfee show.

So it’s safe to say that the Edmonton Oilers have their work cut out for them.