Superstar Nikita Kucherov drops the gloves and beats on Panthers forward
During the Battle of Florida in pre-season, things got very physical between the Panthers and Lightning, and it brought out the aggressive side of Nikita Kucherov.
While pre-season is often about prospects and fringe NHL players battling it out for roster spots, this year we've seen many physical encounters between fierce rivals, and on Wednesday, that continued down in Florida. During a heated matchup, Panthers winger Josh Davies went after new Lightning captain Victor Hedman, and it resulted in his teammate Nikita Kucherov sticking up for him.
This was a very unexpected reaction from Kucherov, as he may have the size to be a physical threat in the NHL, but over the years, we've seen him avoid this type of physical confrontation. After Davies went after his captain however, it made perfect sense for him to stick up for his teammate, and while he didn't quite go as far as we've seen from Arber Xhekaj against Cedric Pare, he made it clear that he's still a physical threat.
The Panthers would ultimately go on to win a meaningless pre-season matchup with a 2-1 overtime victory against their fierce division rival, but with both of these teams having Stanley Cup hopes in 2024/25, this should certainly spice up what is already a very fun rivalry. These teams will do battle several times throughout the upcoming season, so don't expect either team to forget this encounter, and if Kucherov can continue being this type of a physical threat alongside his Art Ross Trophy winning scoring numbers, we could be in for a Hart Trophy season from the superstar winger.
