Sometimes, you learn that a player has another gear during the NHL playoffs. Every now and then, the hockey world finds out someone unexpected can fight a little bit.
Late in the first period of Game 1 between the Flames and the Stars, a violent sequence of events began thanks to … basically the exact person you’d expect. Matthew Tkachuk clobbered John Klingberg with an absolutely massive hit.
Moments later, Tkachuk got into an exchange with Michael Raffl. Soon, a fight ensued, and Michael Raffl got the best of Matthew Tkachuk:
PLAYOFF SZN!!!
We are only through one period of this Stars – Flames series.
Get your popcorn ready. #StanleyCup | #OneStateOneTeam pic.twitter.com/jJUvFzWOYW
— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) May 4, 2022
Wow.
Not long after, there was a fight between two defensemen who rarely drop the gloves. As you can also see in the embedded tweet above, Rasmus Andersson and John Klingberg fought next.
Early on in Game 1 of Flames – Stars, Dallas hasn’t gotten much going, while Calgary went up 1-0. Maybe this will *ahem* light a fire in one or both teams?
—
James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.