Brady Tkachuk explains why he challenged Jordan Staal to a fight seconds into the Stanley Cup Playoffs
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Tyler Ball
Apr 18, 2026 (7:12 PM)
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Photo credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
After tonight’s loss Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk discussed why he challenged Jordan Staal to a fight before puck drop.
Brady Tkachuk is known for being a pest on the ice and trying to use physicality to get his team going.
Most famously, Tkachuk dropped the gloves off the opening face off of the Four Nations Faceoff against Canada.
Today, Tkachuk once again dropped the gloves immediately this time against Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal.
Despite the jumpstart given to his team by Tkachuk the Senators couldn’t find the back of the net against the Hurricanes and fell 2-0 to Carolina.
After the game, Tkachuk was asked why he decided a fight was needed to start off the series and what he thought it brought to the game.
Brady Tkachuk reveals why he challenged Jordan Staal to a fight to begin the Stanley Cup Playoffs
In his post game press conference, Tkachuk was asked what led to the fight and he
Just wanted to show it’s going to be a long series. The building loved it and got the energy going and got the playoffs going for the whole league.
It seems with his fight, Tkachuk was not only trying to make a statement to the Hurricanes but the entire league about what it will look like to face the Senators.
It could be argued that Tkachuk’s decision backfired because as he mentioned it got the Hurricanes crowd into the game which would only hurt the Senators overall.
Regardless, Tkachuk is always going to use his physicality to drag his Senators team into the battle each and every game.
Now, down 1-0 in the series, Tkachuk will have to find a way to rally his troops and get them back on track for Game 2 in Carolina.
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