Matthew Tkachuk comments on punching McDavid in the face.

It would have been hard to suggest that there was a great deal of bad blood between the two teams in the Stanley Cup Final through the first 3 games of the series, with every game going the way of the Florida Panthers. On Saturday night however, the Oilers would show signs of life in Game 4 and that was enough to seemingly bring that bad blood bubbling up to the surface.

The Oilers put on a clinic in Game 4, dominating the Panthers from buzzer to buzzer and finishing the game with the most lopsided victory ever by a team facing elimination in the Stanley Cup Final, an 8-1 thrashing of the Panthers.

The Panthers however did not go quietly in spite of the brutally one-sided loss, getting physical with the Oilers after the whistle and even targeting the team's star players in some cases. In fact both Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk would find themselves in the penalty box roughly midway through the second period, after both men had delivered punches to the face of Oilers captain Connor McDavid.

Following the conclusion of Game 4, Tkachuk was asked about the incident after the whistle and he made no attempt to deny the fact that he had taken some liberties with McDavid.

"Classic playoff hockey," said Tkachuk in response to the question.

Tkachuk did however vow that both he and the Panthers would learn from the brutal loss and would come back ready to perform in front of their home fans in Game 5.