Nobody’s going to mistake Jimmy Fallon for Doc Emrick, but even the Tonight Show host sounded a little stunned when recalling an interview in which Matthew Tkachuk called the 4 Nations Face-Off final the biggest game he’s ever played in.
“You won the Stanley Cup,” Fallon told Tkachuk during Monday’s show. “This was bigger?”
Tkachuk didn’t take it back.
“It really was such a big tournament, such a huge stage, something that I’ll never forget,” the Florida Panthers and Team USA star said. “The thing that I’m most proud of with that team was how much pride we showed representing our country and being American and being so lucky to represent this great country.”
Sidelined with an injury suffered at the 4 Nations tournament, Tkachuk took a trip to New York to be on Fallon’s show while the Panthers flew to Nashville for a Tuesday night game. Tkachuk didn’t have a noticeable limp and said he’s “feeling better, just recovering right now.”
Wearing an all-black suit with a black quarter-zip underneath, Tkachuk played it pretty straight, repeatedly mentioning how proud he was to finally get a chance to represent the United States on the international stage.
“It’s been 10 years since the last international opportunity (and) this is my ninth year in the league, so I’ve gotten the short end of the stick on that,” Tkachuk said (though his math was a little off, with the last best-on-best tournament coming at the 2016 World Cup). “Myself and all the guys that were in this were just so jacked up for it, and I think that’s why you saw the fights at the beginning of the game against Canada. Guys wanted to get their anger out of the way.”
Tkachuk noted that both he and his brother, Ottawa Senators star Brady Tkachuk, were involved in the instantly iconic three fights in nine seconds to open the round-robin game between the two rivals.
“Dad was proud, huh?” Fallon said.
“I think he was pretty proud,” Tkachuk responded.
Fallon had a picture of Keith Tkachuk crying at the end of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last June. Tkachuk drew some “awwws” from the crowd when he said handing the Cup to Keith — who never won a championship in his 18-year career — during the on-ice celebration was “one of the most special moments of my life.”
Brady was in that photo, too.
“My brother was crying there, too,” Tkachuk said. “I haven’t seen him cry since playing mini-sticks in the basement, throwing him through the walls.”
The @NHL is a family affair for @TKACHUKycheese_ 🏒 #FallonTonight #4Nations pic.twitter.com/gfsKPPEcjk
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) February 25, 2025
Fallon mentioned three times over the course of the show that “over 16 million people” watched the final, a number that includes the Canadian audience. Fallon then brought up the Milano Cortina Olympics next February, and while Tkachuk was careful to point out how many countries have rosters loaded with stars, he obviously likes the Americans’ chances.
“I truly believe in our team,” he said. “We got so close with this tournament, looking at next year being a chance at redemption. I truly believe in our chances. Wearing the USA crest there’s nothing like it — we have so much pride in it, and we’ll be ready to go.”
Fallon closed the four-minute segment by inviting Tkachuk back.
“Next time I see you,” Fallon said, “there’ll be gold around your neck.”
Required reading
(Photo: David Kirouac / Imagn Images)
