Leon Draisaitl was heckled for losing back-to-back Stanley Cups by Matthew Tkachuk, who mocked his NHL rival as Team USA beat Germany 5-1 at the Winter Olympics
Matthew Tkachuk made things personal during Team USA’s 5-1 win over Germany at the Winter Olympics, as he mocked familiar foe Leon Draisaitl by bringing up his NHL heartbreak.
Team USA remained unbeaten during the preliminary games of the men’s ice hockey event, easing past Latvia, Denmark, and Germany. However, Tkachuk raised tensions with German star Draisaitl on Sunday, after bringing up their recent battles in the Stanley Cup.
The Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers for the second straight year in the Stanley Cup Finals, as Tkachuk celebrated two championships, while Draisaitl suffered back-to-back disappointment. A rivalry has since formed, and Tkachuk began chirping the Edmonton star in Milan.
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Tkachuk and his brother, Brady, were both directing insults at the German bench on Sunday, with most aimed at Draisaitl. Tkachuk’s comments were picked up by a hot mic on the NBC Sports broadcast.
“Always the bridesmaid, eh, Leon? Always the bridesmaid, never the bride,” Tkachuk said. The saying is an idiom for someone who consistently comes close to achieving a major goal, recognition, or success, but falls short.
Draisaitl and the Oilers have fallen at the final hurdle two years in a row, and both Stanley Cup losses were against Tkachuk and the Panthers. Draisaitl appeared to laugh it off, but he failed to score a point as Germany was dominated by Team USA.
Germany will now face France in a qualification match, with the winner advancing to face Slovakia in the quarterfinals. Team USA has already secured a quarterfinal berth and will face either Sweden or Latvia.
The Tkachuk brothers are known for being extreme characters, and they now host a podcast together. “They’re every bit as entertaining as you guys would think — and unbelievable team guys. It’s a blast,” teammate Dylan Larkin said of the brothers.
“You got to see that at 4 Nations. And now this group is special. It’s fun to be out there with them, and you almost don’t want it to end. So, you got to keep going, keep playing for each other, to keep having fun.”
Matthew Tkachuk was asked about his hot-mic comment after the game, and began smiling when he realized it had gone viral. “Some guys you got to play harder than most, physically and maybe after the whistle sometimes, too,” Tkachuk said.
“But I thought our line, I thought (centre Jack Eichel) especially, did an unbelievable job of giving him (Draisaitl) and their line nothing tonight. So, sometimes you gotta play both parts of the game.
“But, I thought, mainly, Eichs did a great job during the whistle of playing him hard. That was something talked about going in, that we got to be hard on him, and [Tim Stützle], some of these guys over here, some high-end talent. Thought we did a great job.”
Tim Stutzle scored Germany’s only goal of the game, someone that Brady Tkachuk knows well. Despite the Matthew-Leon rivalry, Stutzle and Brady both play for the Ottawa Senators in the NHL.
