"King of fighting undersized scorers": NHL twitter reacts as Matthew Tkachuk hunts down Sebastian Aho in retaliation for hit on Panthers star

Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk went after Sebastian Aho during the third period of Game 3 in the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday. The Panthers were leading 6-1 when it happened. Tkachuk received a roughing penalty and a game misconduct for targeting Aho. No Carolina player stepped in when Aho was targeted.

This came after Aho’s earlier hit on Sam Reinhart in Game 2. Reinhart injured his left knee and left the game; he did not return. He missed Game 3, and coach Paul Maurice said Reinhart is day-to-day.

Fans noticed this and one shared the video of the fight on X:

Soon, others joined in the comment section to share their responses.

“Tkachuk the king of fighting undersized scorers.” One fan said.

“Oh look at Matthew acting tough whenever Kassian isn’t on the ice. LMAO.” Another fan said, referring to Matthew Tkachuk's now retired rival Zack Kassian.

"Love this guy. He’s a legend in South Florida already." a fan wrote.

"This is what Jamie Benn should be doing but he’d rather coast around the ice and talk about how much he didn’t like Nurse’s hit in a press conference" a fan brought, discussion from the other conference incident between Darnell Nurse and Roope Hintz.

Take a look at some more reactions from fans on X:

"I’ve never seen tkachuk go for a guy who’s looking/going for him" a fan mentioned.

"Everybody acting tough when they up. DW canes fans, Davo and Drai will cook them" another fan mentioned, referring to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Matthew Tkachuk and Panthers win Game 3 6-2 to take 3-0 series lead

Despite missing Sam Reinhart, the Panthers won Game 3 convincingly, 6-2, and they now lead the series 3-0. Niko Mikkola scored the first goal at 12:07 of the first period when his pass deflected off Dmitry Orlov's skate. In the second period, Logan Stankoven tied the game 1-1 with a power-play rebound at 14:51.

Early in the third, Jesper Boqvist scored on a breakaway backhand to give Florida a 2-1 lead. Mikkola scored again at 6:26 with a wrist shot from the left circle. Aleksander Barkov then scored at 6:55 off a pass from Matthew Tkachuk. Barkov scored again at 9:31 when his shot hit Shayne Gostisbehere’s stick and went in.

Brad Marchand scored the sixth goal at 10:37 on a 2-on-1 rush. Carolina’s Seth Jarvis made it 6-2 at 11:01 with a power-play backhand from the low slot.