Brady Tkachuk and Jordan Staal fought each other right off puck drop in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs started with the gloves off.
Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk and Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal fought each other after the opening puck drop in Saturday's Game 1.
Both players appeared to have a quick word before the opening faceoff, and off they went in Lenovo Center in Raleigh.
They each landed punches before falling to the ice in the quick but message-sending fisticuffs.
Tkachuk, 26, fought three times during the regular season. His first fight came on March 19 against New York Islanders captain Anders Lee, who fought Tkachuk again on April 11. Like with the Saturday fight with Staal, the tussle took place after the opening faceoff.
He fought six times last season, but in the home-opener of this campaign, Tkachuk was cross-checked and injured his thumb, requiring surgery.
Tkachuk is no stranger to fighting off the draw. He was part of a wild three-fight start to a round-robin game between the United States and Canada during the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025. He took on Sam Bennett of Canada in front of the Montreal crowd.
Staal, 37, fought once during the regular season against Tyler Pitlick on Nov. 6. He's fought nine times in his NHL career across the pre-season, regular season and playoffs, according to hockeyfights.com.
Carolina is the top seed in the Eastern Conference, while the Senators are the second wild-card team. Tkachuk put up 22 goals and 59 points in 60 games this season, while Staal had 20 goals and 36 points in 75 games.
The Hurricanes and Senators' Saturday afternoon game is the first of these playoffs. The three-game slate features the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild at 5:30 p.m. ET and the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers at 8 p.m. ET.
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