Matthew Tkachuk and Auston Matthews celebrate US hockey gold with ceremonial puck drop

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SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Matthew Tkachuk grabbed an American flag, skated down the ice and presented a game puck to 101-year-old U.S. Army Air Corps veteran Jim Sileno.

That's how the Florida Panthers capped an Olympic gold medal celebration.

Tkachuk — part of the U.S. team that beat Canada to win gold at the Milan Cortina Games — was in the Panthers' lineup for their first post-Olympic game Thursday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Panthers had an Olympic celebration, starting with Tkachuk and U.S. captain Auston Matthews, who also captains the Maple Leafs, taking part in a ceremonial face-off just before game time.

Tkachuk picked up the puck, then got the flag and paid tribute to Sileno.

“I really think our team really showed what it’s like to be true Americans and the pride we played with and how we would do every single thing for our country,” Tkachuk said, gold medal dangling from his neck. “So, the support we’ve gotten is incredible.”

There were “U-S-A!” chants during the national anthem, and the arena was predictably loud when Tkachuk handed the puck to Sileno. Tkachuk said he thought “the roof might fall off before the game even starts.”

It has been a whirlwind since Sunday for Tkachuk: an all-night party in Italy before a charter flight back to the U.S., more parties with the team in Miami on Monday, then a trip to the White House for the State of the Union with most of his Olympic teammates.

And life has been one big celebration for Tkachuk in recent years anyway, with a Stanley Cup win in 2024, another in 2025, a wedding in there as well — and now, gold.

“The hardest thing to do in sports is winning the Stanley Cup,” Tkachuk said. “You go through an 82-game grind and then your four playoff series, some Game 7s probably, and just the physicality and the travel and everything, it’s crazy. Whereas you could almost argue it over there at the Olympics, it’s so hard because it’s just one-game elimination.”

Tkachuk is one of seven Panthers players who won Olympic hockey medals: Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett won silver medals for Canada, while Anton Lundell, Niko Mikkola and Eetu Luostarinen won bronze medals with Finland, with Panthers assistant Tuomo Ruutu serving as an assistant for that team.

The Canadian and Finnish players were honored during the first TV timeout Thursday — drawing loud cheers as well from the Florida fans.

“I thought our team played really well actually and sometimes you don’t get the bounces and that’s the game of hockey. Sometimes it doesn’t go your way,” Bennett said, reflecting on the loss to the Americans. “So, that’s what makes hockey incredible. You never know what’s going to happen. And they obviously played a great game as well and it was their night.”

Added Lundell: “Bronze is special too, and I'm slowly starting to understand it’s actually a kind of big deal.”

Panthers general manager and hockey operations president Bill Zito was part of the brain trust for the U.S. team in Milan, and equipment manager Teddy Richards had the same role for the Americans at the Olympics.

They were all part of Thursday's ceremonies. Zito and Richards took part in the pregame puck drop.

“It’s a weird dynamic,” Marchand — who scored Florida's first goal of the night — acknowledged after the team's morning skate. “Obviously we’re disappointed and you want a different outcome, but at the same time, trying to remember to be grateful for the incredible part of it all.”

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL