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The NHL Stanley Cup playoffs began with a bang on Saturday.
Team USA folk hero Brady Tkachuk dropped the gloves with Jordan Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes in an on-ice captains battle as soon as the puck dropped to begin the quest for the Stanley Cup.
Taking the ice to start the game, Tkachuk appeared to ask Staal if he had any interest in getting on it.
Apparently it was a yes.
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Jordan Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes and Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators fight during the first period of Game 1 in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 18, 2026. (Josh Lavallee/NHLI/Getty Images)
Tkachuk threw a couple of right hands, but Staal hit a big shot that connected and knocked Tkachuk to the ice.
This isn’t the first time Tkachuk has dropped the gloves in the first matchup this season. He did it twice before against New York Islanders captain Anders Lee, including last week.
Left wing Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators and center Jordan Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes fight after the opening faceoff during Game 1 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 18, 2026. (Katherine Gawlik/Icon Sportswire)
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Tkachuk stole the hearts of American hockey fans last year when, playing for Team USA in the 4 Nations, he brawled with Team Canada’s Sam Bennett just three seconds after his brother, Matthew, brawled as the puck dropped.
Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk are teammates on the back-to-back reigning champion Florida Panthers, who failed to make the playoffs this year.
The Tkachuks won Olympic gold in February, earning long-awaited revenge for Canada, which has dominated the rivalry in men’s ice hockey.
It was the United States’ first gold in men’s ice hockey since 1980, and the first time the United States beat Canada in the knockout stage since winning gold over Canada in 1960.
Brady Tkachuk of the United States celebrates winning the gold medal during the men’s gold medal game against Canada at the Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Stadium during the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 22, 2026. (Vitalii Kliuiev/Getty Images)
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Tkachuk’s Ottawa Senators earned a wild card to the playoffs, while Carolina’s 113 points this season were the second-most in the NHL and the most in the Eastern Conference.
