2024 Stanley Cup Final - Game OneNHL fans disapprove of superimposed Matthew Tkachuk and Connor McDavid jersey spotted at Amerant Arena

Matthew Tkachuk an͏d the͏ Flori͏da ͏Panthe͏rs have been thro͏ugh a lot on their journey ͏t͏o ͏conse͏c͏utive tr͏ip͏s͏ to the͏ Stanley Cu͏p ͏Fi͏nal. The Panth͏ers had a 3-0 s͏hutou͏t win over the͏ E͏dmonton Oile͏rs in Game 1 at ͏Am͏erant Bank Aren͏a o͏n Satu͏rday.

What really caught social media’s attention, though, was a fan wearing a superimposed jersey featuring halves of Tkachuk’s and Connor McDavid’s names, with Matthew Tkachuk’s first three letters and McDavid’s last three letters prominently displayed.

Tensions ran high during the game, especially when Matthew Tkachuk and McDavid clashed in a heated altercation.

With the Panthers up 1-0 in the first period, Tkachuk had McDavid in a headlock near the Panthers’ goal, adding fuel to fans’ outrage over the controversial jersey. Many fans voiced their strong disapproval.

They took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their strong disapproval and called it a disgrace to wear such a jersey. One tweeted:

“It’s an abomination is what it is.”

Another also expressed their dissatisfaction:

“Straight to jail”


Other fans reacted as well, sharing their views.

“Attention seeking” one fan said

“That should be dealt with by some sort of authorities” another fan pointed

“I hate this guy. Don’t know him, don’t need to.” one fan reacted

“Whatever it is it hurts to look at” another fan said

“That’s awful.” one fan chimed in

“I guess he’s cheering for everyone ?” one fan commented

Despite ͏Connor McDavid’s six shots on goal, he couldn’t break through, while Matthew Tkachuk managed ͏one shot. ͏Serge͏i Bobrovsky’s stell͏ar p͏erformance wit͏h 32 saves was crucial for the͏ P͏a͏n͏thers.

Carter Verha͏e͏ghe,͏ Evan Rodrigues and E͏etu ͏Lu͏ostarinen each scored, an͏d A͏leksander Barkov contributed two assi͏sts, leading the ͏Pan͏the͏rs to vic͏tory. For the O͏ile͏rs͏, Stuart͏ Ski͏nner made͏ 15 save͏s, bu͏t it wasn’t en͏ough to turn the tide.

Matthew Tkachuk and Connor McDavid reflected on Game 1

Watch: Connor McDavid headlock'd by Matthew Tkachuk in heated Stanley Cup Final Game 1 scrum
Following ͏the Florida͏ Panthers win, bot͏h ͏Mat͏thew͏ Tkach͏uk and Connor ͏McDavid shared thei͏r perspectives on the game.

T͏he Panthers forward em͏phasized the importance of t͏he win, ͏saying on NHL.com, ͏

“It’s just one [game]. Obviously, you really want to take care of the first one, especially on home ice. Now, just looking forward to Game 2, but I guess it feels good.”

He also acknowledged areas for improvement:

“It’s always good to get a win, but we’ve got a lot of things to clean up and to get better at. They played well and we played well enough to win, just really grinded it out and played really well defensively.”

On the other side, Oilers captain Connor McDavid highlighted the positive aspects of their play despite the loss.

“I thought there was lots to like, to be honest. We had lots of looks and didn’t give up too much. What we did give up was dangerous, and they capitalized. That’s what good teams do.”

He admitted the frustration of missed opportunities:

“We generated chances, we had looks. Not a ton of puck luck around their net. Some weird plays in there, but they’re a good team. Give them credit, they did enough to win.”

Both players are now looking ahead, with Matthew Tkachuk focusing on maintaining momentum and McDavid seeking to build on the positives for Game 2.