- Brady Tkachuk and Jacob Trouba dropped the gloves in the first period in San Jose
- Trouba jumped in after Tkachuk put Sharks captain Macklin Celebrini on the ice
- Read below for the fight video and the play that started it
Brady Tkachuk didn’t waste any time making enemies in San Jose.
The Panthers forward took down Sharks captain Macklin Celebrini along the boards Thursday night, and Jacob Trouba came in to answer for it. The two dropped the gloves at 7:40 of the first period of San Jose’s season opener at SAP Center.
Watch Trouba and Tkachuk go at it:
This was a real scrap. Both guys traded shots in the middle of the ice before Tkachuk wrestled Trouba down to the ice and the linesmen moved in. Each player got a five-minute major for fighting.
Things got going seconds earlier. Celebrini, playing his first game since being named the 11th captain in Sharks history, bumped Florida captain Aleksander Barkov off his feet near center ice.
Check out Celebrini knocking Barkov over:
Tkachuk clearly didn’t love that. He caught up to Celebrini along the boards moments later and the 20-year-old ended up down on the ice. Trouba skated straight over and grabbed Tkachuk.
Here’s a closer look at what happened between Tkachuk and Celebrini before Trouba stepped in:
Officials handed out just the two fighting majors. Nobody went to the box for the takedown itself.
San Jose got the last word in the period. Mason Marchment scored in his Sharks debut at 14:20, and the home side carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
Both combatants are wearing new colors this season. Tkachuk was traded from Ottawa to Florida in June, and Thursday was only his second regular-season game as a Panther. Trouba was making his Sharks debut after spending parts of the last two seasons in Anaheim.
Trouba knows what his job is on a young Sharks team. Sticking up for the captain on opening night is a pretty good way to introduce yourself to a new room.
