“Best time to be a hockey player is starting now,” the Panthers’ captain, Aleksander Barkov, said before the Battle of Florida postseason action returned for the second straight year. Maybe he hadn’t foreseen getting battered the way he did. Or maybe he did. The Panthers are strange like that. Either way, it’s certainly the best time, for the spectator at least. In Game 2 of Florida vs Tampa Bay, Barkov received a major hit from the Bolts’ Brandon Hagel, which landed the latter in trouble with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety and a one-game suspension. But Matthew Tkachuk made sure to land a similar blow against the arch-rivals in Game 3. But could the American face the same fate as Hagel?

Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel are two names that always promise fully loaded entertainment for hockey fans. At the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off, held earlier this year, the duo dropped their gloves within seconds when the USA and Canada paired up for a thrilling dance on the ice. And now, while Tkachuk couldn’t settle the score with his colleague on Thursday, he made sure to get his thirst to get rough satiated on Saturday.

In Game 3 of Round 1 between the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, Tkachuk slammed into the Bolts’ Jake Guentzel as the Bolts forward set up Anthony Cirelli for an open-netter to seal the 5-1 deal. And pundits at NHLonTNT couldn’t help but speculate if the authorities would make Tkachuk suffer the same fate as Hagel. The official NHLonTNT went on X on April 26, sharing what its panel of experts thought about Matthew Tkachuk’s situation and if the NHL would decide to penalize him for his actions in Game 3. Paul “Biznasty” Bissonnette didn’t leave things ambiguous and noted that it was a “targeted hit” and the NHL should consider that.

“I think we can all agree that it’s late, and I agree with you that he (Guentzel) touched the puck, and he (Tkachuk) probably had a mid line there, and he probably counted that one second and then he delivers it,” Biz explains why in his mind it was serious offense by Matthew. He went on to establish his rationale further. Bissonnette noted that the main difference between the two offences by Hagel and Tkachuk was that the latter had more time and a clear view of the situation before executing the hit. While Hagel had the wrong idea that the puck was in Barkov’s possession before leveling him, Matthew could see well that Jake had already passed it, Biz noted. He concluded, noting that since the NHL handed Hagel a suspension after his Game 2 misdemeanor, they shouldn’t treat Tkachuk’s slip-up any differently. However, his colleagues didn’t see the issue from a similar vantage point.

At one point in the discussion, Anson Carter reminded that Guentzel had “full control of the puck” before getting hit by the Panthers’ winger. Tkachuk received a five-minute major for his tackle against Jake, but knowing the high-stakes match-up that the Florida vs Tampa Bay fixture is, the Bolts camp is already calling for Matthew’s head. However, the NHLonTNT crew wasn’t entirely sold on the idea. “I don’t think a suspension is coming,” Carter noted flatly. His colleague, Henrik Lundqvist, was also skeptical about whether Tkachuk’s hit warrants a suspension. Moreover, Guentzel himself didn’t shy away from sharing his two cents either.

“I passed the puck and it felt like a long time after I got hit. I’m sure the league’s going to take a look at it,” said the Lightning center, citing the history of the series so far. Speaking of history, if any part of Tkachuk had Brandon Hagel on his mind while making the challenge, it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise, considering what had taken place between the two just a few months ago.

In February, at the Bell Centre in Canada, Team USA faced a harsh reception during the 4 Nations Face Off. The Star Spangled Banner was booed two nights in a row, and when the North American neighbors met for the first time at the round-robin segment of the tournament, emotions were already running high. It didn’t take too long before Matthew and Brandon broke into what would be the first of three separate fisticuffs that night. Naturally, on Saturday, it looked like Tkachuk still wasn’t over how Hagel and Team Canada left a sour taste in his mouth.

But hey, it’s the Battle of Florida, after all, and people, friends or foes, will always end up on different sides. That’s the beauty of it. But don’t let the NHLonTNT panelists’ cool way of getting about the issue fool you!

Matthew Tkachuk’s antics are the latest addition to the storied rivalry

The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers came into the playoffs with two wins apiece against each other in the NHL regular season. Moreover, the Cats won the series last year and went on to win the Stanley Cup. And yet, the Cats finished the division below the Bolts, making many pundits predict that Tampa Bay would subdue their in-state rivals this time. However, the fans weren’t convinced, and many came forward to claim that Matthew Tkachuk & Co. would advance to the next round.

It suffices to say the hockey fans are divided when it comes to rallying behind either Tampa Bay or the Panthers. Given the long and intense history behind the rivalry, it’s not surprising either. The two teams first clashed in 1993, a year after the Lightning officially began their NHL journey. And the Bolts were especially unhappy about how the Panthers claimed the entire Sunshine State for themselves, and chose to refer to the newly formed team simply as “Miami”.

The intensity of the rivalry spilled over to this year as well. Sam Bennett said of how things were heating up: “Yeah, I mean, I don’t think we expected anything less. You know, two teams that play each other a lot in the playoffs. That rivalry is just growing and growing, you know. We just hate them more and more every time we play them, so it makes for good hockey.”

With all that in mind, it’s not surprising that Matthew also didn’t want to miss the chance to be part of the decade-old lore once again. Ever since he incurred the lower-body injury at the 4 Nations Face-Off, Tkachuk has been out of action. Even before Game 1, Panthers’  head coach Paul Maurice didn’t know if his star forward would be able to lace up. Thankfully, Matthew did show up, even though the HC wasn’t over the moon about Tkachuk’s performance at the opening game of the seven-game series. But now, it looks like Maurice has another thing to worry about. But do you think Matthew Tkachuk will have to face major repercussions for his actions? Tell us!