Aleksander Barkov did not take the Bruins' challenge.

The Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers are playing an incredibly feisty series. This was expected, as these two clubs have become big-time rivals, with last year's first round truly igniting it. 

Game 2, in particular, took things to new heights. Bruins superstar forward David Pastrnak shockingly dropped the gloves with Florida Panthers agitator Matthew Tkachuk. Tkachuk notably threw punches at Pastrnak when he was already down, which the Bruins did not receive well. 

It turns out that we could have seen another superstar in this series drop the gloves in Game 3 - Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov. 

Here's what Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub said on the matter: "My understanding is that Barkov was challenged to a fight on the opening faceoff in Game 3. Not sure exact reason, I imagine it’s carryover for Panthers fighting Bruins top star in Game 2."

This is certainly an intriguing development but also understandable. It would have been interesting to see Barkov drop the gloves, but that is simply not a part of his game. The 28-year-old is one of the game's most gentlemanly players in the NHL, having won the Lady Byng Trophy in 2018-19. 

While Barkov elected not to fight in Game 3, will the Bruins continue to try to get him to in Game 4? We will need to wait and see. 

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