Matthew Tkachuk reveals new details on what really happened during the Bobrovsky-Nedeljkovic goalie fight

Last week, fans were treated to one of the wildest moments of the NHL season when the Florida Panthers and San Jose Sharks erupted into chaos, culminating in a full-blown goalie fight that quickly went viral.

You knew something special was unfolding the moment Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky took off from his crease and made a beeline toward Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, who had become tangled in a scrum along the boards. Within seconds, gloves were flying, and two of the league’s calmest figures were throwing punches at center ice.

On Wednesday, the scene gained even more context when Matthew Tkachuk shared behind-the-scenes details on the moment during the Wingmen podcast with his brother Brady, revealing just how intentional and electric the moment truly was.

“[Bobrovsky] starts going down there, he’s going frigging fast, chucks off the stuff and goes right at him,” Matthew recalled, laughing. “And right before he went at him, he gives him the ‘let’s go.’”

Tkachuk admitted he assumed both goalies were done for the night, until officials surprised everyone.

“When they fought, I was like, ‘Okay, they’re kicked out,’” he said. “And the refs come up to us and say, ‘They can go back in the net. It’s fine.’”

“Shut up,” Brady immediately responded.

According to Matthew, the Panthers even delayed a power-play faceoff to make sure Bobrovsky was fully re-equipped, and to experience the loud ovation for the goalie in the arena.

“We weren’t dropping the puck until Bobby was back in that net,” he said. “Because we wanted to hear the ovation. When he hit the ice, it was just nuclear.”

Both Bobrovsky and Nedeljkovic received five-minute majors for fighting, plus two minutes each for leaving the crease, yet remained in the game. It marked the first goalie fight in the NHL since Mike Smith and Cam Talbot squared off in 2020.

Despite Florida falling 4-1 to San Jose, Tkachuk said Bobrovsky’s actions transformed the room afterward.

“Normally after a loss, you go straight to your stall,” he said. “But every single guy went to Bobby first — knucks, pats, laughs, a chuckle. It was all-time.”