Nico Hischier, Matthew Tkachuk and Devils
NHL Player Safety has announced that New Jersey Devils defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic has been fined $1,996.53 for cross-checking Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk. This is the maximum allowable fine under the CBA.
NEWARK—New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier and Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk have history. And that history was revisited on Tuesday night amid the Devils’ 2-1 shootout loss to the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
Each year, the top forty-five American NHL draft-eligible hockey players face off in the All-American Game. Key participants this year include Jack Murtagh and William Moore, both recently named top-32 prospects on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings.
On Tuesday, tensions boiled over once again in the NHL as the Florida Panthers took on the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center. Panthers’ star Matthew Tkachuk found himself locked into a chokehold by a Devils star after he landed a massive hit on Nico Hischier.
Matthew Tkachuk had himself an excitable night with the Florida Panthers on Friday night. Tkachuk spent a good portion of Florida’s 3-2 shootout win against the Penguins off of the ice, officials slapping him with a 2-minute unsportsmanlike penalty as well as a 10-minute misconduct in the second period.
Once Tkachuk was finally free from the box with 13:03 left in regulation and the game tied against the Pittsburgh Penguins, he made his mark known. He scored on his first shift back, tipping in a Carter Verhaeghe shot on the power play to help Florida to a 3-2 shootout win on Friday at Amerant Bank Arena.
Dylan Larkin scored two goals and the surging Detroit Red Wings beat the Florida Panthers 5-2. Larkin, Jonatan Berggren and Patrick Kane had power-play goals for Detroit, which also got a goal from Marco Kasper.
For the third straight game, the Devils headed to extra time. But it was Florida that would steal the extra point in a shootout. Anton Lundell scored the deciding tally to lift the Panthers to a 2-1 shootout victory at Prudential Center on Tuesday night.
The Lightning center is on pace to shatter his career high for goals. Could he also finally win a much-deserved Selke Trophy?
Detroit is looking to respond after a 6-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, which ended its season-high seven-game winning streak. Two goals from Vladimir Tarasenko and one goal from Lucas Raymond saw the Red Wings pull within 4-3 just before the midway mark of the third period, but Detroit ultimately couldn’t find the equalizer.
New Jersey Devils defencemen Johnathan Kovacevic was fined $1,996.53, the maximum allowed under the NHL’s CBA, for cross-checking Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk on Wednesday.