Matthew Tkachuk Makes His True Feelings Known About Chris Tanev's Play With the Leafs

With the Maple Leafs and Panthers heading into Game 4 on Sunday night, both teams are looking to make sure they find the momentum needed to either put a lockdown on the series, or find a way to claw their way back to a tie.

Toronto has had to deal with a very relentless and aggressive Florida side.

The fact that they team already lost Anthony Stolarz doesn't give a lot of hope, and while Toronto has done well to hold things down thus far, Joseph Woll might not be the answer in the end.

It's their defense however that has been a huge bright spot, and while they had a couple injury scares, have made it through so far unscathed.

One person who deserves a lot of credit is Chris Tanev.

Coupled with Jake McCabe, he is part of an elite shutdown duo and has been a warrior this postseason, putting his body on the line every night in every capacity.

Florida has a problem on their hands with Tanev, and it hasn't gone overlooked, especially by Matthew Tkachuk.

Speaking ahead of Game 4, the forward gushed a bit about Tanev as the two go way back having played in Calgary together:

It's a bit of a shocker that Tkachuk is complimentary to not only his opponent but to a Maple Leaf especially. The two have a history together and for sure there's some mutual respect between them, though the competitiveness remains.

So far this postseason, Tanev has been as advertised. Adding three points in nine games, he's also brought in 25 blocks, six hits and a plus-6 rating in 20:07 TOI.

He's going to need to keep that defense rolling on Sunday night against Tkachuk and the Panthers, and if he can help ease the burden on Joseph Woll, it makes a win a bit easier to accomplish.

Leave it to the playoffs to have a ton of surprises, and Matthew Tkachuk's complimentary nature towards Chris Tanev is certainly one of them.

Though once they step on the ice, all good nature is thrown out the window for the sake of making it to the Stanley Cup Finals.