Watch: Tkachuk-Pastrnak melee highlights Panthers' Game 2 thrashing of Bruins
May 9 (UPI) -- A third-period scuffle highlighted another physical rivalry meeting between the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers, with All-Stars Matthew Tkachuk and David Pastrnak exchanging punches in Game 2 of their playoff series.
The incident occurred with about 7:18 remaining in the Panthers' 6-1 blowout victory in the Eastern Conference semifinal series Wednesday at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. The series is tied 1-1.
"Man, you are going to see that on the highlights, over and over and over again," Panthers coach Paul Maurice told reporters. "I think it's a good thing. You've got two elite offensive players. Tkachuk is a 100-point guy all day long. Pastrnak is this brilliant player.
"But it's playoffs. They each have their team and brothers in the room. It gets a little spicy out there. They wanted to go. I think it was awesome."
Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour scored the final goal of the night with 8:02 remaining, triggering an initial scuffle. Panthers and Bruins players hit the boards and the ice as they exchanged blows, leading to four 10-minute misconduct penalties, essentially ejections at that point of the game.
Play resumed shortly after the brief stoppage, but was again halted when Tkachuk and Pastrnak dropped their gloves. Tkachuk and Pastrnak exchanged punches in front of their benches before Tkachuk forced his foe to the ground.
The Panthers forward then landed a punch, knocking off Pastrnak's helmet. He then hit the Bruins forward several more times in the back of the head before referees intervened.
Pastrnak, 27, attempted to get back to Tkachuk, 26, before the players were separated. They each were penalized and not allowed to return to the game.
Tkachuk received 80% of the vote for winning the fight, according to HockeyFights.com. According to that website, he also went 2-0 in fights during the regular season. He was 0-3 last season.
Pastrnak, who doesn't often fight during games, has only one other recorded fight on the website. Voters ruled that the 2018 scuffle with former Tampa Bay Lighting defenseman Daniel Girardi was a tie.
"I don't really want to get into it," Pastrnak, who had a scrape on his nose, said when asked about Tkachuk's late punches. "I don't know. I'm not a very experienced fighter. I fell down. It's on me.
"I should have approached it a little bit better. I haven't been in many of those."
In total, 148 penalty minutes were dispersed in Game 2. The game featured 146 hits. Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov totaled two goals and two assists. Forward Sam Reinhart chipped in four assists. Montour logged a goal and two assists.
Defenseman Gustav Forsling and forwards Steven Lorentz and Eetu Luostarinen also scored for the Panthers.
Forward Charlie Coyle scored the Bruins' lone goal.
Game 3 of the best-of-seven game series will be at 7 p.m. EDT Friday in Boston. Game 4 will be Sunday in Boston. Game 5 is set for Tuesday in Sunrise.
"I don't think there will be any spillover to next game," Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said when asked about the Game 2 fights. "These are two teams that are rivals. We played each other last year and playing each this year. It's going to be a series.
"I'm proud of Pastrnak. There are so many guys out there pushing after the whistle while the linesmen are there. Pastrnak and Tkachuk, they just went out there and fought. That's what you like. You like your hockey players to be competitors."
