Fighting might be banned from Olympic hockey, but fighting words are very much on the table.
Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk showed as much as Team USA took on Germany in the final preliminary game. Referencing the Panthers’ back-to-back Stanley Cup wins over the Edmonton Oilers, Leon Draisaitl’s team, Tkachuk poked fun at Draisaitl on the bench.
“Always the bridesmaid, eh Leon?” Tkachuk said with his brother Brady behind him. “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.”
The best chirps, however, have levels. Draisaitl, of course, plays with Connor McDavid, who is one of the best skaters in the NHL. So Tkachuk could also easily be referencing that Draisaitl isn’t the most popular player on his own team, despite being an excellent player in his own right.
Draisaitl skated off with a grin. After all, there isn’t a lot to say to one of the top players of the team that beat you in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals. The United States would go on to win 5-1 in a dominant performance.
Tkachuk is building quite a history against the Oilers and Draisaitl. Before he played Edmonton in back-to-back finals, Tkachuk played for the Oilers’ in-province rivals the Calgary Flames. Indeed, in 2020 Draisaitl told Jim Matheson if he had to play three-on-three with Tkachuk in the All-Star Game he would “probably get off” the ice.
Draisaitl is hoping to have the last laugh this year. The Oilers are currently second in the Pacific division of the West with 64 points, putting them in playoff position for now. The Panthers, meanwhile, have 61 points in the crowded Atlantic after year rife with injuries. They’re eight points away from a playoff spot, hoping to play catchup in what has proven to be hockey’s tightest division.
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