Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk incites Sabres' ire in first Atlantic clash

Matthew Tkachuk’s Atlantic Division arrival is off to a fiery start.

Just two games into his tenure with the Florida Panthers after landing in the Sunshine State via a trade with the Calgary Flames, the 24-year-old winger already has two goals and an assist. But his presence on the ice extends far beyond his contributions on the scoreboard, his identity encompassing much more than simply making plays. After six years spent scoring goals, wreaking havoc, and reviving rivalries old and new against Pacific Division neighbours, he’s suddenly got seven new divisional foes to frustrate.

And against the Sabres in Buffalo on Saturday afternoon, his first divisional matchup in his new Eastern Conference digs, Tkachuk wasted no time making enemies.

The first sign of bad blood started brewing when Sabres forward Alex Tuch took exception to a low hit from Tkachuk on Henri Jokiharju, causing a scuffle at centre ice.

Tkachuk took a pair of minor penalties in the game, including a roughing minor for his role in a game-ending dust-up. Several Sabres, including Dylan Cozens (who also earned a penalty for his role), Tuch, Rasmus Dahlin, and Jeff Skinner went after Tkachuk following the final buzzer – a fitting ending to what was a chippy, back-and-forth game with the kind of emotion often reserved for the fiercest of rivalries.

Some of the Sabres aired their grievances post-game, with Buffalo head coach Don Granato telling reporters he “can’t wait” to face Florida again:

Looks like we've got a new rivalry on our hands.

Granato, by the way, knows Tkachuk well – he coached him during his time with the U.S. National Team Development Program, where Tkachuk suited up during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.

Here's Tuch on Tkachuk, via Mike Harrington of Buffalo News Sports:

"That's the type of hockey he's gonna play. I knew it. it's something that he wants to bring to the table. And I'd say a lot of us don't really want to give him the time of day," said Tuch, who opened the scoring Saturday and later added an assist.

"Sometimes you have to stick up for your teammates. Sometimes [his style] is good," Tuch continued. "And then other times, just let him kind of run around out there and take himself out of the play. Don't try to put too big of an emphasis on one guy in particular."

Tkachuk also drew two separate minor penalties in the game, which ended with a 4-3 score in favour of Florida.

The Panthers have started the season with a pair of wins after defeating the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

"There's some guys over there I'll be playing against for the next eight-plus years,” Tkachuk, a rare sign-and-trade who arrived in Florida with a freshly inked eight-year, $76-million contract, told reporters following Saturday’s game. “Especially with some of the stuff that happened at the end that they did, we'll remember that for a while."

The Sabres, clearly, are already very familiar with suiting up against Tkachuks – they kicked off the season with a win over Brady Tkachuk’s Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

As for this particular matchup, we'll have to wait a few months for the next time the Panthers and Sabres meet up. They play next on Jan. 16 (another date in Buffalo) followed by games in Florida on Feb. 24 and April 4.