It wouldn’t be entirely accurate to say it was an easy target.
But it was definitely a tempting target.
During a 5-2 home win by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, one of the most vexing players in the entire NHL, struck Penguins forward Connor Dewar from behind with a cross check in front of the visiting bench.
Almost immediately, Penguins defenseman Parker Wotherspoon surged at Tkachuk and dropped the gloves.
They mostly bear-hugged each other before linespersons Dylan Blujus and Mark Shewchyk intervened and pulled the warring parties apart.
It was an easy decision for Wotherspoon to defend a teammate while imbibing with the added bonus of trying to punch a generally agitating entity like Tkachuk.
“Yeah, for sure,” Wotherspoon said in Cranberry on Wednesday. “He knows what he’s doing out there. He’s going to be a little bit of a rat out there. It just kind of happened, obviously, with the hit from behind. It is what it is. I think guys are doing a good job of standing up for other players here.
“Making sure the top dogs are safe.”
The Penguins have shown some bite this season as they have recorded 14 fighting majors with three games remaining.
“It definitely feels like we’re fighting more compared to last year,” defenseman Ryan Shea said. “Last year, it felt like we didn’t have one the whole year. I don’t know what the final number was that we had last year, but it felt like we had two last year.”
Shea’s accounting was a bit off. Last season, the Penguins only had seven.
To be certain, the 14 fights the Penguins have in 2025-26 are one of the lowest totals in the NHL. Through Thursday, it was tied for the seventh-fewest in the 32-team league per tabulations maintained by Hockey Fights.
In contrast, the Tampa Bay Lightning lead the NHL with 44 fighting majors.
The Penguins aren’t about to make anyone forget about the Broad Street Bullies, the nom de plume of the vicious Philadelphia Flyers from the mid-1970s. But the Centre Avenue Combatants, or whatever you want to call the 2025-26 Penguins, aren’t shy.
“We’ve talked about being a team and standing up for each other and protecting our goaltenders,” Penguins forward Rickard Rakell said. “It’s a very nice feeling to know that you’re always going to have backup if someone tries to do something against our players.”
A significant bulk of the fights the Penguins have participated in have come in recent games. In fact, they recently recorded four fighting majors — including Wotherspoon’s — over a five-game span.
On March 30, during an 8-3 road win, Penguins forward Elmer Soderblom (6-foot-8, 252 pounds) recorded his first career fighting major by pounding New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield (6-4, 215).
One night later, as the Penguins claimed a 5-1 home win against the Detroit Red Wings, Dewar renewed acquaintances with defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker, roughly a year after they had fought previously.
By Saturday, the Penguins routed the Panthers at home, 9-4. That contest included Panthers forward Luke Kunin getting the best of Penguins defenseman Connor Clifton, who leads the team with four fighting majors this season.
One day later, Wotherspoon and Tkachuk squared off.
Penguins forward Bryan Rust offered a postulate as to what led to that surge in fisticuffs.
The Penguins and many of their opponents were desperate to secure a playoff spot.
“When you’re playing meaningful hockey, that’s when the emotions can run a little bit higher,” Rust said. “The fact that we’re playing very meaningful hockey late in the year can definitely be a factor in that.
“The intensity in the games is probably the biggest factor.”
Fighting was largely a non-factor for the Penguins the previous 10 seasons under former coach Mike Sullivan, who famously preached “just play” in the event his players were on the wrong end of an opponent’s malfeasance.
The Penguins experimented with a few true enforcers, such as Tom Sestito and Ryan Reaves, during Sullivan’s tenure, but not to a meaningful degree.
Under first-year coach Dan Muse, the Penguins don’t have a true enforcer on the roster. The only person capable of truly filling that role, Boko Imama, has spent the bulk of the season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
As it is, during a brief recall to the NHL roster, Imama (6-1, 223) fought one of the biggest players in NHL history, Lightning forward Curtis Douglas (6-9, 242) on Dec. 4.
But the Penguins have several players who aren’t shrinking violets, several of whom were added this past offseason, along with Muse.
While Muse isn’t exactly enamored with the pugilistic side of the sport, he is in no way averse to it.
“I’ll never tell a player to fight,” Muse said. “That’s never come out of my mouth. … I have a lot of respect for the guys, both in this locker room and in the league, that do it. It’s not an easy task, but it’s part of our game.
“There’s different ways of showing sticking together. Sometimes it’s protecting your goalie, and everybody being a part of the scrum. Sometimes it does involve a fight, and you’re defending a teammate. That’s something that this group, I think, has done pretty consistently.”
One person who does seem to be keen on the bellicose part of the game is assistant coach Mike Stothers, another offseason hire who oversees the defensemen.
A handful of the Penguins’ blue liners have cited the fiery Stothers in preaching toughness.
“I think that’s the culture that the coaches came in with,” Shea said. “I know (Stothers) is big on that. I think guys are doing a hell of a job. We’re going to have to keep that going, because this last stretch and going into the playoffs, it’s just going to become harder games and heavier games.”
Even if they don’t have that many fights, the Penguins appear to have more fight in them than in recent years.
“Sticking together as a team has always been prioritized,” Wotherspoon said. “(Stothers) always wants us together as a team, sticking up for each other. Sometimes, fights just happen. I don’t know about the uptick in them, but I know the guys want to protect each other and we’re doing a good job.”
Note: Rust was selected as the Penguins nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, an award that recognizes players’ charitable endeavors. … The Penguins canceled a scheduled practice Friday.