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Matthew Tkachuk addresess headlocking and punching Connor McDavid in heated scrum
Florida Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk addressed the heated scrum that occurred during Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers. The incident, which took place early in the second period, was sparked by a hit from behind on Oilers' forward Zach Hyman by Panthers player Sam Bennett.
As Oilers' captain Connor McDavid came to defend his teammate, Tkachuk engaged in a physical altercation, landing several punches to McDavid's head before putting him in a headlock and continuing to throw punches. The referees had to intervene to break up the scuffle.
When asked about the incident post-game, Tkachuk downplayed the severity of his actions, referring to it as,
"Classic playoff hockey."
He also emphasized the Panthers' advantageous position in the series with a 3-1 lead.
"We're in an unbelievable spot right now. We came here and after all that craziness got a split. Now we're going home to play in front of our unbelievable fans. They're so excited to see us and we're so excited to play in front of them again." Matthew Tkachuk said.
Edmonton's offensive onslaught was led by goals from Mattias Janmark, Adam Henrique, Dylan Holloway, Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (two goals), Darnell Nurse, and Ryan McLeod. Vladimir Tarasenko scored the lone goal for Florida.
Stuart Skinner saved 32 shots to secure the victory. Meanwhile, Sergei Bobrovsky conceded five goals on 16 shots before being substituted by Anthony Stolarz, who made 17 saves after taking over.
Connor McDavid responds to Matthew Tkachuk's punches
Connor McDavid addressed Matthew Tkachuk's punches in the post-game interview. When asked about the incident, McDavid said:
"I didn't throw there very many punches but you know that's not the game I wanted to play, that's not the game, that's not by job…” McDavid said.
"I'm just there make sure no one is getting outnumbered and I thought Hyman was getting doubled up on by Bennett and Tkachuk, just try to jump in there and do my part as a teammate and you know its, everybody got to jump in that moments... I just didn't want two guys on Hyman," he added.
The series now shifts back to Florida for Game 5 with the Panthers up 3-1 as the Oilers aim to stay alive in the Stanley Cup Final.
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