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Matthew Tkachuk Revealed The Strange Reasoning Behind The Panthers Shooting Rats At Brad Marchand
Photo credit: Masslive
The Florida Panthers have been shooting rats at Brad Marchand after wins, and it's become a tradition for the team. Now Matthew Tkachuk has spoken out on why they do it.
After punching their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes in game 5, the Panthers continued their tradition, and are now looking to win another Stanley Cup for the second-straight year with Brad Marchand on the roster this time.
Marchand had an on ice interview with TNT after their win, and had Matthew Tkachuk, Evan Rodrigues and Aleksander Barkov waiting to shoot rats at him.
Matthew Tkachuk Speaks On Panthers Shooting Rats At Marchand
Tkachuk stated that he isn't too clear on how it became a tradition, but he recently appeared on "The Pat McAfee Show" and stated it's now apart of their postgame process.
«I don't actually recall how it started because I wasn't playing in the regular season,» Tkahuck said. «I normally go out, leave the ice second-to-last with Barky after a win and once it came to Game 1 of the playoffs, Marchy picked up a few rats - maybe for his kids or people that were asking.
«I think E-Rod shot the first one at him, and then Barky was like, 'If you're going to shoot one, then I'll pass one nicely into you.' Then, when I came back, we started firing them at him,» he continued. «So, it's been a fun tradition and people seem to like it. It fits what our team is all about: Having fun and not taking anything too seriously.»
«I think E-Rod shot the first one at him, and then Barky was like, 'If you're going to shoot one, then I'll pass one nicely into you.' Then, when I came back, we started firing them at him,» he continued. «So, it's been a fun tradition and people seem to like it. It fits what our team is all about: Having fun and not taking anything too seriously.»
Paul Maurice has been loving it.
«I will tell you, they're shooting them as hard as they can. They're not flipping them at him. There's shrapnel around there, and I didn't have any equipment on,» he told reporters recently, via ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. «I was just trying to get off the ice. Like, it hurt. But they're eating them up at them, and he's trying to get out of the way. It is funny as hell.»
Marchand added: «It's just one of those things that happens organically. We don't overthink it. We just have fun out there.»
Marchand added: «It's just one of those things that happens organically. We don't overthink it. We just have fun out there.»
The Panthers are super relaxed right now, but they know they have a job to finish when they will face the Edmonton Oilers in a rematch during the Finals.
«We haven't accomplished anything yet,» Marchand told reporters after Florida's Game 5 win. «The toughest team we're gonna face is coming up next. If you don't do the job there, you didn't win anything. We're excited, but it's just like any other round. There's a huge job to do moving forward and we have to prepare for that now.»
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JUIN 1 | 466 ANSWERS Matthew Tkachuk Revealed The Strange Reasoning Behind The Panthers Shooting Rats At Brad Marchand Do you think Brad Marchand and the Florida Panthers are going to beat the Edmonton Oilers again in the Finals? | ||
| Yes | 288 | 61.8 % |
| No | 178 | 38.2 % |
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