Mitch Marner laughs after getting punched directly in the face by ...
The Toronto Maple Leafs avoided being swept by the Florida Panthers on Wednesday. Not only did the Leafs beat the Panthers 2-1, but they also appeared to beat them at their own game.
As the final horn sounded of Game Four, a fracas broke out between the two team. Matthew Tkachuk, who is essentially human sandpaper, punched Mitch Marner directly in the face twice as a referee tried to separate the teams.
Marner responded by laughing, appearing to enjoy and crave more violence.
This is what the NHL playoffs do to people, folks.
Marner and Tkachuk each earned a two-minute penalty for roughing, though since the game was already over, it didn’t mean much.
who among us doesn’t laugh after taking a punch to the face? pic.twitter.com/K09ccn6pJM
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) May 11, 2023
After the game, Marner was asked what the heck he was thinking in that moment.
“Well I know exactly what he’s going to try to do,” Marner said, “Just stay poised and don’t really give a flying f. You know what the next word is.”
And now he’s almost cursing in interviews. Marner is the same guy who got fourth place in last year’s Lady Byng voting and took a grand total of 28 PIMs this season. He has fought exactly zero times in his NHL career. Marner’s more known for drawing smiley faces in his gloves to remind him to have fun during games and once performing in the Nutcracker with the National Ballet of Canada.
This all seems so very out of character for him.
In the end though, Marner got the last laugh on the night, both literally and figuratively, scoring the game-winner with his first goal of the series and taking home First Star of the Game honors. It also marked a physical game for him even before the scrum: after registering seven hits in the last nine playoff games, he threw four Wednesday night.
Tkachuk, meanwhile, has been one of the Panthers’ best players all postseason. He’s scored 16 points in just 11 games while regularly getting under the skin of his opponents. He even tried to fight Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark in a full-on line brawl.
Wednesday night’s tussle was made even funnier by Marner and Tkachuk’s shared history. The two played together on the OHL’s London Knights and maintained a friendship even after they entered the NHL.
With Panthers now leading the series 3-1, the series will move to Toronto for Game Five on Friday night. Given how the series has gone so far, there’s sure to be plenty of scuffles to come.
Screenshot: ESPN
