{"id":459514,"date":"2026-02-16T05:02:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T05:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/459514\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T05:02:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T05:02:19","slug":"matthew-tkachuk-sounds-off-on-leon-draisaitl-trash-talk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/459514\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew Tkachuk sounds off on Leon Draisaitl trash talk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matthew Tkachuk<\/a> has finished his last two NHL seasons by lifting the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers. As he did so, Leon Draisaitl<\/a> had to watch, sitting on the losing end with the Edmonton Oilers. Now, Tkachuk, playing for Team USA<\/a> at the Olympics, got a chance to face Draisaitl on the Olympic stage.<\/p>\n

While the United States took the 5-1 victory over Germany, Tkachuk made sure to get some jabs in on Draisaitl in the form of chirping<\/a>, and talked about that after the game, according to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways the bridesman, eh, Leon?\u201d Tkachuk said to Draisaitl on the ice, as caught by a hot mic. \u201cAlways the bridesmaid, never the bride.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways the bridesmaid eh Leon? Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.\u201d \ud83d\udc80<\/p>\n

pic.twitter.com\/L7zj6DjDvU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 10,000 Takes (@10k_Takes) February 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Tkachuk had to address the remark after the contest, defeating Draisaitl once again.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome guys you got to play, you know, harder than most, physically and maybe after the whistle sometimes, too. But I thought our line, I thought [Eichel] especially, did an unbelievable job of giving him and their line nothing tonight. So sometimes you gotta play both parts of the game. But, I thought, mainly, [Eichel] did a great job during the whistle of playing him hard. That was something talked about going in, that we got to be hard on him, and [St\u00fctzle], some of these guys over here, some high-end talent. Thought we did a great job,\u201d Tkachuk told Lazerus.<\/p>\n

Tkachuk was on the ice often against Draisaitl, along with his brother Brady Tkachuk and Jack Eichel. Draisaitl did not have a point in the game, as the United States took the 5-1 victory. Meanwhile, the Tkachuk brothers both got an assist on the goal from Brock Faber in the second period.<\/p>\n

Germany will now need to face France on Feb. 17 in the qualifying round of the tournament. If they win, they will face Slovakia on Feb. 18. Meanwhile, the United States awaits the winner of Sweden and Latvia<\/a>, with a bye into the quarterfinals due to their play in the group stage.<\/p>\n