Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk fought longtime Bruins favorite David Pastrnak at the end of Wednesday night’s Game 2 in the NHL’s Eastern Conference semifinal matchup.
After the dust-up, Pastrnak made sure to let Tkachuk know, with at least three more games left in the series that ‘I’m not afraid – I can take a punch!’
The result of Wednesday night’s game was already in hand with Florida leading 6-1, a reversal from Monday’s Game 1, where Boston won on the road 5-1.
Getting blown out leads to frustrations, especially with the pressure and spotlight that comes alongside playoff hockey.
That combination led to two of the biggest stars in the Panthers-Bruins series dropping the gloves and throwing haymakers, even as three officials
Pastrnak said he could take a punch after his second career NHL fight against Tkachuk
‘You’re in a game, it’s a lot of emotions. I’m not afraid of him to be honest, I can take a punch,’ Pastrnak said after the game about Tkachuk. ‘I’d do anything for these guys here.’
Pastrnak nor Tkachuk have a reputation as brawlers, constantly getting into fights in games, such as Matt Rempe, Andreas Englund, or Tom Wilson.
Yet, hockey’s rules allow for the fists to fly and the game’s biggest stars to prove themselves and fight sparingly.
During a 2019 playoff series, the year after winning the Stanley Cup, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin knocked out Carolina Hurricanes star Andrei Svechnikov with a brutal right hand.
Earlier in the game, Pastrnak had another on-ice shoving match with Panthers center Sam Reinhart.
Wednesday night’s Bruins-Panthers game was full of tough stuff after the blowout commenced
Bad blood quickly develops between teams in the playoffs with so much on the line.
Pastrnak did admit after the game he has a clean slate with Tkachuk heading into Game 3 of the series, with the next two matchups taking place in Boston.
The next time Pastrnak will see Tkachuk on the ice will be Friday night with the series tied at one game apiece.
This was Pastrnak’s second all-time NHL fight, with the other taking place in 2018 against former Lightning star Dan Girardi.
Tkachuk has considerably more experience dropping the gloves, with his bout against Pastrnak being his 25th NHL career fight.
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