NHL News: Connor McDavid’s Oilers teammate Evander Kane pokes the bear with vivid comment about Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final delivered everything expected from a high-stakes NHL showdown. The ice was packed with drama, tempers flared, and tensions boiled over—even after the final horn—when Connor McDavid’s teammate, Evander Kane, took a sharp jab at Matthew Tkachuk.

Wherever there’s controversy in the NHL, Tkachuk usually isn’t far behind—and the opening game of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final was no exception. However, the Panthers star couldn’t guide his team to victory, he did record an assist, but overall he put on an inconsistent showing.

Although Tkachuk had a relatively quiet outing—playing a minimal role in the final score and going largely unnoticed on the ice—Kane and the Oilers didn’t miss the chance to rub salt in the Panthers star’s wounds with a pointed jab after the game.

“What’s it like [playing against Matthew Tkachuk]? It’s like any other player he just talks a little more,“ Oilers forward Evander Kane boldly told reporters after the 4-3 victory in Game 1.

Connor McDavid #97 and Evander Kane #91 of the Edmonton Oilers celebrate their overtime win over the Florida Panthers in Game One of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place on June 04, 2025 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

No friends in Edmonton

The Panthers walked into a hostile environment at Rogers Place, which was made crystal clear during the players’ introductions, when the away team was booed by the 18,000 fans in attendance. After last year’s Stanley Cup crowning over McDavid and the Oilers, Florida is heavily disliked in Edmonton.

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However, the despise for Tkachuk runs even deeper. The 27-year-old winger has his own history against the Oilers, due to his past with the Calgary Flames. Tkachuk played a crucial role rekindling the fire on the Battle of Alberta, and his antics won’t be forgotten anytime soon in Oil Country.

Tkachuk has no love, whatsoever, for the city of Edmonton and the Oilers, either. He made that clear upon arriving in Sunrise in 2022, when he dropped a blunt admission during his introductory press conference. “I hate Edmonton, but I hate Tampa [Bay Lightning] more now,” he said then.

As fate would have it—almost as if he had manifested it—Tkachuk and the Panthers became fierce postseason rivals with the Oilers, meeting in the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back NHL seasons. After recent events, Tkachuk may need to revisit his introductory statement in Florida, as the hatred for Edmonton now seems to rival that of Tampa.