The Florida Panthers defeated the undisputed best team in the National Hockey League in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs — and according to superstar Matthew Tkachuk, they'll now play the next best.

“I guess the prize for knocking off the best team in the league is getting the second-best team in the league now,” Tkachuk said with a smile, according to ESPN's Kristen Shilton.

“Boston did what they did [in the regular season], but Toronto is the one team that was right behind them. So it's going to be a very similar challenge. The one thing that brought us together last series was the fact that we knew we were the crazy underdogs, and that doesn't change this series.”

Tkachuk is clearly embracing the underdog mentality, which helped the Panthers defeat the Boston Bruins in a stunning Game 7 on Sunday night.

The Leafs were a juggernaut in 2022-23, finishing with 111 points, while Florida had to fight and claw for a postseason spot which they eventually secured in the final days of the campaign.

“Not many people thought we'd be in this position,” Tkachuk explained, per Shilton. “There's not a lot of people out there that think we're going to be able to pull this one off [against Toronto] either, just like they didn't think we'd be able to pull Boston off. So, one game at a time.”

Tkachuk had a monster regular season, scoring 109 points for his Panthers and almost single-handedly willing them into the playoffs. He picked up right where he left off against Boston, scoring the overtime winner in Game 5 to keep his team alive and finishing with five goals and 11 points in the series.

“What's made us successful is we're kind of oblivious to the situation that we're in,” he said. “That's a great thing for us, just staying right in the moment and not letting the outside noise in. It's just allowed us to focus one day at a time and really allows us to enjoy it.”

Game 1 between Matthew Tkachuk's Panthers and the Leafs is set for Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.