Brady Tkachuk dropped the gloves with Nikita Zadorov off the opening draw Sunday, and the Panthers' night in Boston only got uglier.
Florida lost 4-1 at TD Garden, but the score was the quiet part of the story. The two teams combined for 126 penalty minutes, the most in any NHL game this season according to Gino Hard.
Hard pointed out that it all started with Tkachuk and Zadorov, and that the game set the season high for penalty minutes.
BR_OpenIce added the full count: 29 total penalties and three combined misconducts.
Garnet Hathaway fought Mark Kastelic, and Anton Lundell sucker-punched Charlie McAvoy in what became Anton Lundell's scrum with McAvoy. It was a night where the gloves came off early and never really went back on.
Then came the ejections. Brady and Matthew Tkachuk both drew 10-minute misconducts, three minutes apart, and the Panthers finished the game without their two best-known agitators.
Did the Panthers lose their heads in Boston?
Yes, and the penalty sheet backs it up. Boston had nine power plays, the most against Florida since Oct. 14, 2021, according to Jameson Olive. Jeremy Swayman made 40 saves in a game where the Bruins were never short of chances.
Playing on the edge is part of this team's identity. But when Matthew Tkachuk was sent down the tunnel with 8:08 left in the third period, the edge had turned into a liability. Nobody on that bench was going to change the result by then.
The Bruins saw it as a style they expected. McAvoy said "they have a championship pedigree over there, and that's their style," adding that Boston wasn't surprised by it.
Zadorov, who started the whole thing, framed it as a win for the room. "We had each other's backs today," he said. Boston has now won four straight.
For Florida, it's two losses in a row after the 3-4 defeat in Washington on Saturday, and the record sits at 9-7-2. The Panthers wrap up the road trip Tuesday at Columbus, and we'll see whether Paul Maurice's group brings the same temper or a cooler head.
Quick hits
PITTSBURGH PENGUINSKris Letang didn't hold back after the Penguins' 5-2 loss in Anaheim, according to Dan Kingerski. Brutal honesty from a veteran usually means the room is already talking about it.
WASHINGTON CAPITALSJames Nichols reports the Devils are sitting Connor Hellebuyck on Tuesday in Winnipeg to save him for the Capitals. Washington gets a goalie rested for a date that matters.
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNINGRyan McDonagh's split-second decision with the clock running out is the talk around the Lightning after Sunday's 4-3 loss in Winnipeg. Those are the losses that linger.
ANAHEIM DUCKSGreg Beacham reports the Ducks are the first team to score at least 5 goals in 8 straight games since the 1988-89 Los Angeles Kings. That's a stretch nobody has seen in 38 years.
OTTAWA SENATORSSteve Warne looked back at how the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2026 fared against the Senators over the years. A nice trip through Ottawa history.
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Matthew Tkachuk sent down the tunnel in Boston