Matthew Tkachuk didn’t get upset when Chris Kreider tossed his mouthguard away.
Instead, the Panthers forward took a shot at Kreider’s play in Florida’s Game 4 victory on Tuesday, which tied the Eastern Conference Final.
“I told him, that was the best play he made all game,” Tkachuk responded.
Kreider and Tkachuk were separated by a linesman just 48 seconds into the third period, with the Rangers star reaching up at Tkachuk’s mouth and getting a handful of mouthguard.
It looked like Kreider threw it into the stands, but it didn’t make it there.
“Just threw it into the air,” Tkachuk said on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s mammoth Game 5 at the Garden. “I got to wash it off and just use it. … I guess it’s all game within a game stuff, from their side and then our side.”
He added: “At the end of the day, it’s not the first time that’s happened, actually. Normally they just give it back. I think the last time they took it and threw it right back at me. So this time was a little bit different. It is what it is, game within the game, playoffs, gotta love it.”
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Had the mouthguard gone into the crowd, officials could have hit Kreider with a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct under Rule 75.4 (iii), for “any player who deliberately throws any equipment out of the playing area. At the discretion of the Referee, a game misconduct may be imposed.”
After the game, Kreider didn’t want to discuss it, telling The Athletic: “I don’t remember that,” in reference to the heated exchange.
Kreider has struggled in the series, without a point and a minus-three rating in four games. He had seven goals and three assists in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
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