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!!!
— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) May 4, 2022
We are only through one period of this Stars - Flames series.
Get your popcorn ready. #StanleyCup | #OneStateOneTeam pic.twitter.com/jJUvFzWOYW
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?
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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.
