Old Time Hockey. Eddie Shore. Featuring The Calgary Flames And LA Kings
You could tell during warm ups last night that this one was going to be a donnybrook. The Calgary Flames and Los Angeles Kings don’t like each other very much. And if you’ve been paying attention over the last couple of weeks, it all stems to this play right here where Flames rookie Matthew Tkachuk drilled Drew Doughty in the grill with an elbow.
Matthew Tkachuk is a little shithead. I don’t mean that in a bad way at all. That’s just how he plays the game. He’s an emotion guy who plays the game on the line. When you play on the line every single night, eventually you’re going to cross it sometimes. This was a shitbag elbow on Doughty the other week. I get being a younger guy in the league and wanting to make your presence felt but that was a not-so-great elbow to the face. And with a few passive aggressive comments to the media from both sides since the incident, clearly last night’s game in the Saddledome was going to pop off.
So the game gets underway and clearly some retribution is in order for the Kings and both teams would probably like to get this out of the way right away. So Tkachuk lines up there for a faceoff and thinks it’ll be Jake Muzzin serving up some payback for his boy Doughty.
Turns out the other guy has to want to fight you first before you drop your gloves and just go after him. Who knew? Anyways… Tkachuk found a dancing partner soon enough and it was Brayden McNabb.
This kid, man. I’ll tell you what. He’s going to be a player that people either love or they love to hate. Not much to be indifferent about when it comes to Matthew Tkachuk. And he’s going to be huge for the Flames in the playoffs because clearly he’s not afraid to provide a little spark for the boys and play the villain role to a T.
Tkachuk and McNabb wasn’t the only scrap of that 1st period last night. In fact, it was actually the undercard to what happened next. Deryk Engelland vs former Calgary Flames legend Jarome Iginla.
Here’s a little fun fact for all you kids at home. Jarome Iginla was playing in Calgary before Matthew Tkachuk was even born. 39-years-young. On a team that is almost certainly out of playoff contention. Playing in what is most likely his final game at the Saddledome. And he’s chuckin’ knucks until the cows come home. Iggy is the fuckin’ man. And not only did he get in a tilt last night, but he got a goal and an assist in LA’s 4-1 win over the Flames. That’s right, bitches. A Gordie Howe Hat Trick for old man Iginla in a game that–at best–only kept Calgary from clinching a playoff berth.
Last thing here but shoutout to Matthew Tkachuk for officially becoming a home owner. Finally made settlement on his nice chunk of property inside of Drew Doughty’s brain last night.
Doughty Ducks. Guy is terrified of the kid.