Panthers teammates Tkachuk, Barkov ready to put friendship aside at 4 Nations

WASHINGTON -- Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov's focus, for now, is on the Florida Panthers' next two games at the St. Louis Blues on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FDSNMW, SCRIPPS) and home against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

Tkachuk expects that immediately after playing the Senators, his allegiance will change from to trying to win with Barkov to trying to defeat him. Tkachuk and the United States will face Barkov and Finland in their first game at the 4 Nations Face-Off at Bell Centre in Montreal on Feb. 13. (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS).

"The switch will flip right after," Tkachuk said Tuesday. "I think everybody's been so jacked up for these international events, representing your country, so I'm sure the second that game ends, I'll be full Team USA after that."

Tkachuk said he's "built bonds with these guys I will have for the rest of my life," during the three seasons since the Panthers acquired 27-year-old left wing in a trade with the Calgary Flames on June 22, 2022. They've gone to the Stanley Cup Final each of the past two seasons, losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023 before defeating the Edmonton Oilers to win the Panthers' first championship.

Florida (32-20-3) is first in the Atlantic Division again and has designs on repeating as Stanley Cup champions, but Barkov said that will be put aside during the 4 Nations Face-Off, an international tournament featuring teams made up of only NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the U.S. to be held from Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston.

"When we go out there and play against each other, I don't think we will be that good of friends on the ice," said Barkov, the 29-year-old Panthers captain. "To play for our own countries is a huge honor and you're always going to give everything you have for the team to try to win the game."

Barkov is one of four Florida players on Finland's roster with forwards Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen and defenseman Niko Mikkola. Although Tkachuk won't have any Panthers as U.S. teammates, he'll join forces with his younger brother, Senators captain Brady Tkachuk.

"So, it's pretty even, I guess," Lundell joked.

The Panthers know well the impact one Tkachuk can have. Barkov remembers how difficult it was to play against Matthew during the latter's nine seasons with Calgary and has an even greater admiration for him from playing with him with Florida.

"Obviously, everyone knows how good of a player he is," Barkov said. "At the same time, you just have to be aware of him on the ice all the time. He's physical. He's very skilled. He can make plays. He can score goals. He's the leader of any team that he plays on. That's what I remember of him playing for Calgary and those things just got bigger and bigger when he came here.

"And you see from so close how he leads the team and how he wants to win every single second on the ice."

Tkachuk has a similar appreciation for playing with and against Barkov, a two-time winner of the Selke Trophy voted as the top defensive forward in the NHL (2021, 2024) who is third on the Panthers with 48 points (13 goals, 35 assists) in 45 games this season. Tkachuk is second with 51 points (19 goals, 32 assists) in 50 games behind Sam Reinhart (60 points; 31 goals, 29 assists in 55 games), who will skate for Canada.

"I only played against him a few times when I was in Calgary. It was terrible," Tkachuk said. "I remember once when we were in Florida it felt like we didn't have the puck the whole night against him. He's big (6-foot-3, 214 pounds) and he skates so well and defends so well, but he's just as good offensively, so he's like the total package.

"We're definitely going to be keying on him on that Finnish team."

Tkachuk has a particular talent for getting under an opponent's skin with his physical play and what he says during games. Known for being a fierce competitor with a calm demeanor, Barkov might be one of the best equipped players for handling that part of Tkachuk's game

"You just have to ignore him," Barkov said. "Some guys you can do it easier. Some guys are more challenging. If you have a good chirp game, you can engage, but if you don't, you just ignore him."

Lundell thinks facing Tkachuk again could be fun.

"Obviously, we're very familiar playing on the same side, but now I get to see him on the other side again," Lundell said, "so I'm sure it's going to be a good battle and maybe some good jokes and good chirps."

Barkov, who became the first captain from his country to win the Stanley Cup last season, will also be Finland's captain. Tkachuk will be an alternate for the United States, so each player will be front and center for his respective team. And each will be driven to win, regardless of if they're facing an NHL teammate on an opposing team.

With forwards Reinhart and Sam Bennett representing Canada and defenseman Gustav Forsling playing for Sweden, Florida will have eight total players in the tournament.

"There's going to be a lot of guys in similar boats," Tkachuk said, "so guys are just going to adjust right away. I think they are going to be pretty intense games, more intense than people think, so you've just got to put your friendships aside and you've got to go out and win it. I think everybody will be on the same page with that."

Although Canada is the United States' biggest rival and Sweden is Finland's, the players understand the importance of each game at 4 Nations. The four teams in the tournament will play each other once in a round-robin format starting with the two top teams advancing to the championship game in Boston on Feb. 20.

"Every game is Game 7 there," Barkov said. "You have to try to win every single game to be able to make the final. That's our goal. We take a game at a time and try to win our game."