Matthew Tkachuk seems to have taken over the role of the most effective pest in the NHL and this clip shows exactly why.
When we say pest, we don’t mean it negatively. Matthew Tkachuk has a job to do and he does it very well. According to Corsica.Hockey Tkachuk leads the league with 42 penalties drawn. Having taken only 24 penalties of his own, that’s a significant amount of value he’s been able to add to his team just by getting under the other team’s skin.
This latest clip of his tactics in action show exactly why. Check out Robin Lehner punching him in the face with his glove after receiving a light snow.
This is exactly why Tkachuk is so effective. He doesn’t go in the crease, he really doesn’t snow Lehner too hard (So, the ref can’t really punish him for anything), but he definitely does it intentionally. You can see he’s basically staring Lehner right in the eyes as if he just dunked on him or something.
Not only does he know how to get a reaction out of a player, but he seems to know who to get it from.
Tkachuk attracts retalitation from fiery players in the league, like Lehner and like Drew Doughty, who has probably the most well-known rivalry with the Flames’ youngster.
We’re sure some fans who don’t like Tkachuk’s style will take satisfaction in seeing him get a stiff left from Lehner, but we’re sure that he’ll take that every day of the week if it means his team is going to the powerplay. And they did go to the powerplay, as Lehner got two minutes for roughing.
We’re sure he had a similar reaction to Drew Doughty’s when he got a penalty.
