“Holy f*ck there is a double standard” Matthew Tkachuk receives no suspension for his brutal hit on Tampa Bay's Jake Guentzel

On April 27, Elliotte Friedman shared on his X - There will be no hearing/supplemental discipline for Matthew Tkachuk . Reasoning as I understand it: Force of hit not considered at level of Hagel/Barkov, no head contact, and Guentzel touched puck.

X users reacted to it immediately. One fan thought there was a different rule book for Matthew Tkachuk, “There will be no hearing/supplemental discipline for Matthew Tkachuk. Reasoning as the NHL understands it: There is a special rule book and treatment for Matthew Tkachuk”.

There will be no hearing/supplemental discipline for Matthew Tkachuk

Reasoning as I understand it:
*Force of hit not considered at level of Hagel/Barkov
*No head contact
*Guentzel touched puck

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 27, 2025

Another wanted the same rule for everyone, “Why wouldn’t every losing team unload on the opposing star player at end of game (clean hit) and take the 5 min penalty? Open season.” While the third one clearly wrote what came to their mind, “Holy f*ck there is a double standard.”


“The only players we hit are the ones that have pucks,” Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice defends Matthew Tkachuk’s brutal shoulder hit on Jake Guentzel

Matthew Tkachuk has been given a 5-minute major for this hit on Jake Guentzel before Tampa's ENG pic.twitter.com/gDHny5h8z2

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 26, 2025

Paul Maurice, the head coach for the Florida Panthers said in the press conference that the only players they hit were the ones with the pucks. But the puck in Matthew Tkachuk’s case was long gone. Matthew Tkachuk saw Jake Guentzel pass on the puck to Anthony Cirelli. He saw it all happen before his eyes but still turned around and hit Jake Guentzel brutally on the chest with his massive shoulder! X users reacted to it. One wrote, “Puck was long gone. This was intent to injure. I would bet suspension for remainder of series if not longer. Reason: repeat offender”

Another commented, “That’s a clean hit, Guentzel got caught puck watching”, a third fan wrote, “The five-minute major probably keeps this from being a controversy or suspension.”, a fourth fan said, “Suspend him @NHL”, and fifth fan reacted, “Clean hit. Refs trying to control the series”.

One down 😤#GoBolts | #TBLvsFLA pic.twitter.com/urmbJ8GfAl

— x - Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) April 26, 2025

Amidst Matthew Tkachuk’s no suspension for his brutal hit on Jake Guentzel, Aaron Ekblad says composure is number one

Two sides to one team. Matthew Tkachuk hit the Tampa Bay Lightning ’s ice hockey left winger Jake Guentzel while his team member, an ice hockey defenseman Aaron Ekblad, said in the media interview that composure is key to playing in the playoffs. Where was the composure when Tkachuk hit Guentzel long after he had left the puck?

pic.twitter.com/a2aslgqvi2

— x - Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) April 27, 2025

On April 27, Aaron Ekblad shared in the press conference, “Composure is number one. You feel like you’re on top of the world after you win a game, and it hurts when you lose a game. So, managing your expectations, managing your emotions, and how you feel between those games is extremely important. It’s everything in a playoff series. You can’t get too down; you can’t get too low. You’ve got to find a way to come into the next game with the same energy, focus, and intensity every night.”





Also Read: “First playoff win in 8 years,” Ottawa Senators still alive in the seven series, thanks to Jake Sanderson - The Times of India