The New Jersey Devils' collective reaction to Matthew Tkachuk's hit on Nico Hischier was evidence of team growth as well as growth from the captain himself.

NHL Player Safety has announced that New Jersey Devils defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic has been fined $1,996.53 for cross-checking Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk. This is the maximum allowable fine under the CBA.

NEWARK—New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier and Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk have history. And that history was revisited on Tuesday night amid the Devils’ 2-1 shootout loss to the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk found himself in the middle of a fracas — surprise! — during the third period of Tuesday’s game against the Devils.

On Tuesday, tensions boiled over once again in the NHL as the Florida Panthers took on the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center. Panthers’ star Matthew Tkachuk found himself locked into a chokehold by a Devils star after he landed a massive hit on Nico Hischier.

Each year, the top forty-five American NHL draft-eligible hockey players face off in the All-American Game. Key participants this year include Jack Murtagh and William Moore, both recently named top-32 prospects on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings.

Tensions boiled over Tuesday night at Prudential Center as the Florida Panthers defeated the New Jersey Devils 2-1 in a shootout.

Matthew Tkachuk had himself an excitable night with the Florida Panthers on Friday night. Tkachuk spent a good portion of Florida’s 3-2 shootout win against the Penguins off of the ice, officials slapping him with a 2-minute unsportsmanlike penalty as well as a 10-minute misconduct in the second period.

Once Tkachuk was finally free from the box with 13:03 left in regulation and the game tied against the Pittsburgh Penguins, he made his mark known. He scored on his first shift back, tipping in a Carter Verhaeghe shot on the power play to help Florida to a 3-2 shootout win on Friday at Amerant Bank Arena.

Dylan Larkin scored two goals and the surging Detroit Red Wings beat the Florida Panthers 5-2. Larkin, Jonatan Berggren and Patrick Kane had power-play goals for Detroit, which also got a goal from Marco Kasper.

Hischier never saw him coming. Tkachuk hit Hischier high and sent him onto his back. ESPN play-by-play announcer Bob Wischusen called it “a big, freight-train hit,” and analyst and former Devils defenseman PK Subban screamed, “Whoa!” on the call. Then all hell broke loose.

For the third straight game, the Devils headed to extra time. But it was Florida that would steal the extra point in a shootout. Anton Lundell scored the deciding tally to lift the Panthers to a 2-1 shootout victory at Prudential Center on Tuesday night.