Florida and New Jersey went hard at it, and Kent Hughes is the real winner out of it

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MarcO
December 22, 2022 (4:35 PM)

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Tensions rose for the Florida Panthers Wednesday night after they failed to win the game against the New Jersey Devils.

The result frustrated the players and led Matthew Tkachuk to push the envelope once again. After the Devils scored the insurance goal in an empty net en route to a 4-2 win over Florida, a scrum occurred and Tkachuk saw an opportunity to go after young forward Nico Hischier.

The officials immediately separated them but Tkachuk wasn't done and charged at Hischier, who was from behind and unaware of his opponent's sudden arrival. It's a good thing the officials didn't get too far away...

On Saturday, when the Panthers also faced the Devils, tempers flared as well, and this could be Tkachuk's way of defending his teammate Aleksander Barkov, who was injured by Hischier on a faceoff with three seconds left in the first period. Barkov needed help getting back to the dressing room after being hit in the left knee by the Devils' star forward's stick.

Still, Hischier's move seemed unintentional, but Tkatchuk seems to have thought otherwise. You can judge for yourself:

The move may also be a sign of frustration with the Panthers' recent games. Indeed, Florida needs to get back on track as their playoff hopes are now in jeopardy in the middle of the season. They have lost their last two games and are 4-6-0 in their last ten contests. They are currently in 6th place in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of the CH.

Keep in mind that the CH is directly tied to the Panthers' performance. Kent Hughes pulled off a major hit at the trade deadline by trading for Florida's first round pick, and an unprotected one in the Ben Chiarot trade. You have to think that GM Bill Zito didn't expect his team to start the season the way they did.

Imagine having a top 10 or even top 5 pick with this one! A file to follow...