Bruins applaud David Pastrnak for throwing down with Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk

BOSTON -- Despite getting walloped on the scoreboard by the Florida Panthers, David Pastrnak and the Boston Bruins were not going down without a fight on Wednesday night. Quite literally.

It's no surprise that tempers were high late in Game 2 on Wednesday, with the Panthers taking a 6-1 lead with about eight minutes left in the game. There had already been a handful of scrums and skirmishes in the period, and it felt like more were brewing.

What was surprising was Boston's half of the fisticuffs that broke out with just over seven minutes to play.  For just the second time in his career, David Pastrnak threw down his gloves and had himself a dance. His dance partner -- Florida star/instigator extraordinaire Matthew Tkachuk -- is no stranger to fighting, and it showed in the brief tussle between the two star players.

Pastrnak clearly didn't appreciate the extra punches that Tkachuk threw while he was on the ice, and threw of few of his own after the refs had Tkachuk pinned down. Both players were given fighting penalties and game misconducts, and joined the slew of players on both sides that were already given an early exit from the game.

This was a premeditated fight, as Pastrnak was spotted on the Boston bench letting head coach Jim Montgomery know he was going to throw down with Tkachuk. While most head coaches probably don't want their best scorer to start throwing around fists -- or more importantly, have fists thrown at them -- Montgomery applauded Pastrnak after the loss.

 "I'm really proud of Pasta," said Montgomery. "There's so many guys out there pushing after the whistle when the linesmen are there. Pasta and Tkachuk, they just went out there and fought. That's what you like. You like your hockey players to be competitors."

Florida head coach Paul Maurice agreed with Montgomery.  

"I thought it was awesome," said Maurice. 

Pastrnak admitted after that he isn't a fighter, but also said he isn't afraid of Tkachuk, who has over two dozen fights under his belt over his NHL career.

"I can take a punch," Pasta said. "And I'd do anything for these guys here."

Punches were flying everywhere in the third period, as the two teams racked up 136 penalty minutes over the final 10 minutes of the contest. It seemed like something was breaking out with every stoppage in play, and six players from each side were ultimately given early trips to the dressing room: Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, Justin Brazeau, Trent Frederic, and Pat Maroon of Boston, and Tkachuk, Nick Cousins, Eetu Loustarinen, Dmitry Kulikov, Niko Mikkola, and Sam Reinhart on the Florida side.

A giant fracas preceded the Pastrnak-Tkachuk bout, after Brandon Montour scored Florida's six goal of the night and decided to really celebrate it in front of Brad Marchand. The B's captain didn't like it, and all sorts of tomfoolery followed on the ice. It resulted in four of the 12 misconducts handed out on the evening.

Unfortunately for the Bruins, that was the only real juice they had in Game 2, and now they'll head back to Boston with the series tied 1-1. But they should have plenty of juice when things shift to the TD Garden on Friday night, thanks to Pastrnak's uncharacteristic tussle with Tkachuk.

Taking on Tkachuk wasn't about winning a fight for Pastrnak. It was about stepping up and standing up for his teammates, who were being taunted and swung at by Panthers all night. It was about sending a message that the Bruins weren't going to let the Panthers push them around anymore.

These two teams clearly do not like each other, going back to last postseason, when Florida ended Boston's historic season in the first round. Add in Wednesday night's extracurricular activities on both sides, and it should set up an entertaining Game 3 in Boston on Friday night.