Maple Leafs' fan Paul Bissonnette takes blunt dig at rival Matthew Tkachuk ahead of 2nd round clash against Panthers

The Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs are meeting again in the second round of the playoffs. Last year, Florida beat Toronto in five games. Although both teams have changed this time, the rivalry is still strong. Maple Leafs fan and former NHL player Paul Bissonnette has already started taking shots.

On the 559th episode of the Spittin' Chiclets podcast, Bissonnette made a joke about Florida star Matthew Tkachuk.

“You are late just like your hits,” he said. (1:17:55)

Bissonnette is known for making bold comments. In a video posted on Twitter, Bissonnette went even further and said:

“Florida Panthers, we have unfinished business with you.”

He also mentioned Panthers forward Sam Bennett and talked directly to Tkachuk again.

“Hi, Matthew. You just took down your brother, Brady, and now we’re coming for you,” he said.

He didn’t stop there. Bissonnette also mentioned Brad Marchand.

“My arch f**king nemesis,” he said about Brad. “You’re going down, buddy. Put the war paint on because it’s gold time. It’s our year.”

Florida reached the second round by beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. They won all three road games in that series. Toronto took six games to beat the Ottawa Senators.

Panthers head coach Paul Maurice readies team for Maple Leafs clash

Florida coach Paul Maurice said Toronto has elite skill and good defense, similar to the Lightning. Florida will try to use that experience to prepare.

“Some similarities to our first round,” Maurice said via NHL.com. “Some high end, elite skill. Good goaltending and good defensive structure for their team. Those things will be the similarities for us that we’ll start with.”

Florida had strong scoring in Round 1. Sam Reinhart led the team with six points. Matthew Tkachuk had five points after returning from injury. Sam Bennett, Eetu Luostarinen, Anton Lundell, and Aleksander Barkov also had five points each. In total, 15 Panthers players earned at least one point.

Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky played well. He won four games and had a 2.21 goals-against average.

Toronto’s top scorers also performed well in the first round. William Nylander had nine points. Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, and John Tavares all made key contributions. Anthony Stolarz started in the net and matched Bobrovsky’s 2.21 goals-against average. He used to be Bobrovsky’s backup during the Panthers’ Stanley Cup run.

Florida won three of four games against Toronto in the regular season. Bobrovsky had a .925 save percentage in those games. Florida hopes to keep that success going.