Brady Tkachuk did old-school hockey lovers everywhere proud on Tuesday night.
The Senators captain showed that grit and toughness when during a 6-4 loss he dropped the gloves with Sabres forward Alex Tuch in the third period after appearing to injure his right shoulder in the second period.
Tkachuk skated off the ice after what appeared to be a light, routine collision with Sabres center Peyton Krebs.
However, that didn’t seem to be too much of an issue when he went toe-to-toe with Tuch.
Tkachuk seemed to take exception to a hit laid on him by Tuch, and he immediately got up and went after the Sabres foward.
Tkachuk threw a flurry of haymakers at Tuch right out of the gate before Tuch tried to slow Tkachuk down.
But Tuch only got taken down to the ice by Tkachuk and got an additional punch to the face before the linesmen could jump in to break up the fight.
The scrap came with under five minutes to play in the game and the Sabres leading the Sens, 5-2.
Tuch had a gash on the left side of his face near his eye and had blood coming down as he skated to the Buffalo locker room.
He returned for the third period.
Senators coach D.J. Smith said Tkachuk was “fine” and had a stinger on the elbow, but he may miss time regardless.
While Tkachuk was applauded by Senators fans for his tenacity, the flight could cost him a suspension.
The refs handed Tkachuk a five-minute instigator penalty, and under NHL rules, any instigator assessed in the final five minutes of a game or at any point during overtime “shall be suspended for one game, pending a review of the incident.”
The Senators can appeal, however.
“I know what the rule is for — I don’t see that situation at all,” said Smith “I saw a guy that went out of his way to hit him dirty and he sticks up for himself, so the league will make that call and let us know.”
If he is suspended, Tkachuk could miss Ottawa’s game on Thursday on Long Island against the Islanders.
He did not have any points on Tuesday night.
Tuch, however, completed a Gordie Howe Hat Trick.
He had an assist on the game’s opening goal and a second-period goal to go along with his fight in the third.
— with AP
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