Rangers Chris Kreider throws mouthguard of Panthers Matthew Tkachuk into crowd
The Eastern Conference final has been nothing short of fast, physical, and hard, with a number of mind games sprinkled in between whistles, and game four between the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers was no different.
During one particular moment where a scrum ensued, Rangers left winger Chris Kreider and Panthers combatant Matthew Tkachuk began to tussle. During the short skirmish, Kreider somehow managed to get his glove on Tkachuk's mouthguard and proceeded to throw it into the stands.
Afterwards, Kreider was asked about the situation and he had a pretty funny yet reasonable explanation about the incident in question. Have a look:
It has been preached time and time again that the name of the game throughout the playoffs in order to take advantage and gain an edge is mind games and both the Rangers and Panthers have excelled with every opportunity to throw their opponents off. This is just another prime example at that.
Whether in this situation it worked, its tough to say however as the series pushes forward tied at two games a piece it will get to a point where survival of the fittest will come into play. Depending on if you believe the game as a whole is more mental or physical is up for debate and an argument can be made for each. But it is likely that a combination of the two has been taken into consideration by both the Rangers and the Panthers. Can it be said that whoever masters these together will win the series? Maybe, but we'll have to wait a little while longer to see.
| POLL | ||
Which team is built to win the Eastern Conference final? | ||
| Florida Panthers | 146 | 53.7 % |
| New York Rangers | 126 | 46.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
