The Morning Take: 'It's a Hockey Fight!' — Wrestling Match Teases Leafs-Bruins Playoff Battle

Ovechkin believes Matthews will score 70, Canucks break up Lotto Line and the Tkachuk family legacy is growing

If the season were to end today, the Toronto Maple Leafs would play the Florida Panthers in the first round of the playoffs. But the match-up that everyone wants — and expects — involves the Leafs and Boston Bruins.

That includes the AEW, which was in Toronto at the home of the AHL-afiliate Marlies on Wednesday night for a live presentation of Dynamite/Rampage.

In the highly anticipated "I Quit" match, wrestlers Adam Copeland III and TNT champion Christian Cage teased what could be coming a month from now in what devolved into a hockey-themed brawl that featured cross-checks from mini-sticks, body slams onto a hockey net and a fight inside the penalty box.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6vFPn8Dygg[/embed]

At one point, Copeland (who is from Orangeville, Ont.) donned a Leafs sweater and, after removing a Bruins sweater a fan, forced Cage (who is from Toronto) to put it on, before getting into a hockey fight and jerseying his opponent to the delight of the Coca-Cola Coliseum crowd.

Eventually, Copeland got Cage to quit and became the TNT champion. Whether that's a sign of things to come is not yet known. But the ties between the Leafs and pro wrestling run deep.

After all, it was earlier this year when Copeland gifted Morgan Rielly what is now the team's "player of the game" championship belt.

Either way, if Wednesday night's wrestling match is anything to go by, a Leafs-Bruins match-up would be a bloody affair. And who knows, it could result in Toronto finally being named champion.

1) BREAKING: Sharks Sign Akim Aliu, Co-Founder Of Hockey Diversity Alliance: The San Jose Sharks are signing Hockey Diversity Alliance co-founder Akim Aliu to an AHL tryout deal for the remainder of the season.

2) Ovechkin Rooting For Matthews To Hit 70 Goals, Set New Scoring Record In Salary Cap Era: 'For Him, It's Easy': Ovechkin is rooting for Matthews to make history and pass him for the single-season goals record in the salary cap era.

3) 'That's Not The Secret Sauce': Canucks Head Coach Shuts Down Full-Time Lotto Line: Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet shut down the idea of using the famed 'Lotto Line' full-time.

4) Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk to become an uncle!: Brady Tkachuk, brother of Matthew Tkachuk announced on Instagram today that he has a baby boy coming in September 2024

5) 'Brodes Hasn't Been At His Best This Season': Why TJ Brodie Will Be A Healthy Scratch for the First Time as a Member of the Maple Leafs: Brodie will sit and Conor Timmins will get back into the lineup against the Washington Capitals.