The Florida Panthers eliminated the Boston Bruins on its way to winning the Stanley Cup earlier this year. It wasn’t a huge surprise that emotions ran high in the season-opener, with the two contenders facing off yet again. The Panthers picked up right where they left off, once again looking like an incredibly tough team to beat this year.
The Panthers got things going right off the bat, and with the game slipping away for Boston, frustration began to grow. With nine minutes played, and with the Panthers up 2-0, Bruins forward Trent Frederic decided to drop his gloves, apparently ready to fight Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk.
But to the fans’ big disappointment, nothing happened, and Frederic wasn’t happy about it.
READ MORE: Bruins’ Max Jones slashed referee in NHL season-opener
With Tkachuk refusing to drop the gloves, a confused Frederic had no choice but to grab onto Tkachuk’s jersey. A scrum ensued after the incident, and Frederic ended up being sent to the bin for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. After the Bruins’ 6-4 loss, Frederic was furious with Tkachuk’s behavior, and he even called him out for backing out of a fight that he supposedly initiated.
”He actually asked me [to drop the gloves] because I was asking, and then he didn’t,” Frederic told the media postgame, via NESN. ”It’s hard to read that… I didn’t know people did that. I think that’s a little disrespectful to the game.”
READ MORE: Frank Seravalli apologizes after comments about Johnny Gaudreau
Tkachuk isn’t the most popular man in Boston, especially after their playoff series last season. This will certainly only make him more of a villain, breaking an unwritten NHL rule. The teams play each other again on Monday in Boston, and you definitely don’t want to miss it!
