The Battle of Alberta delivered what it promised Wednesday night with an exciting game that ended in a shootout and lots of action on the ice. Not only that, but Zack Kassian and Matthew Tkachuk dropped the gloves and settled their score from the last time the two teams met when Kassian ended up with a two game suspension for instigating. Following the game, Kassian told the media that Tkachuk wanted to go right away, but he wanted it to happen on his terms.
"He wanted to fight right away," said Kassian of Tkachuk. "But I wanted to keep him guessing a little bit. But he wanted to and I respect him for that. I told him before we even dropped the gloves when we were gonna. That's the way it is. Now it's over. I wish it would have happened in the first place and then it would have been done. But I respect him for stepping up to the plate."
Kassian says he wanted Tkachuk to wait a little bit for the fight to make him think about it, something he referred to as "the game within the game."
"Obviously he wanted to get it done and over quick. And, like I said, I respect the guy. I always said he was a good player and I respect him for stepping up to the plate like that."
Tkachuk took a ton of criticism on social media after the last game for hitting Kassian a couple of times with borderline hits and then refusing to answer the bell when Kassian wanted to fight him. Wednesday night's tilt between the two, which you can view below, went as expected. With just over three minutes left in the first period, the two squared off after the puck was dropped in Calgary's defensive zone. Tkachuk did manage to get a couple of swings in before Kassian overpowered him and he dropped to the ice.
Victory-wise, Tkachuk has had the last laugh in the last two games, as Calgary has won both of them. This first one by a score of 4-3 in regulation and Wednesday night's game by the same score in a shootout. The two team's meet again Saturday night.
