Tkachuk goes too far with Wotherspoon and gets hit from behind.
Matthew Tkachuk, who plays for the Florida Panthers, is known for getting under his rivals’ skin, but sometimes he takes it too far.
On Sunday, Tkachuk and the Panthers played against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Fans watching saw Tkachuk and Penguins defenseman Parker Wotherspoon get into it all game long. The two kept trading jabs, with Tkachuk using his usual tricks to annoy Wotherspoon, but this time it backfired on him.
In the middle of the third period, Tkachuk hit Wotherspoon with a slash that seemed to push Wotherspoon over the edge. As Tkachuk skated past him after the hit, Wotherspoon turned and threw a hard punch to Tkachuk’s face from behind, all while still holding his stick.
Tkachuk looked hurt by the punch, which made his teammates jump in to help. Panthers player Sam Bennett rushed to Tkachuk’s side and gave Wotherspoon a taste of his own medicine. Bennett landed a hard cross-check on Wotherspoon and then followed it up with several strong punches.
Even though Tkachuk got Wotherspoon riled up, the Panthers ended up with fewer players on the ice after this scuffle.
Here’s a recap of what happened:
Parker Wotherspoon sucker punches Matthew Tkachuk, so Sam Bennett steps in and clocks him with a right 😳👊 pic.twitter.com/R3zG1RJC30
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) April 5, 2026
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