Drew Doughty vs. Matthew Tkachuk is the NHL’s hottest feud

If you were wondering whether Kings defenseman Drew Doughty was over those hits that Flames winger Matthew Tkachuk laid upon him back in March, we got a pretty firm answer Wednesday. The feud is still on.

The two players got penalties around the same time in the third period of the Flames’ 4-3 win over the Kings, and could be seen yelling at each other from their respective penalty boxes in a manner that seemed ... less than friendly.

The intensity late in a close game between division rivals is unsurprising, but there’s a bit more to this.

Tkachuk, a 2016 first-round pick who had a breakout rookie year in Calgary, was suspended two games in mid-March last season for elbowing Doughty in the face while battling for the puck. There was no penalty on the play, but the Department of Player Safety came in later with the punishment.

That wouldn’t be the end of things, either. Less than two weeks later, the Kings and Flames would meet again, and Tkachuk narrowly missed laying a monster hit on Doughty near center ice. The play, which led to a bit of brawling between the two teams, could’ve been way worse if Doughty didn’t dodge at the last second to get out of the way.

Those are just the two most prominent examples of the back-and-forth physicality between the two players. And then, fast-forward to Wednesday, where the two sides continued battling until Sean Monahan’s overtime game-winner sealed the victory. The animosity is real.

Flames goaltender Mike Smith, a new addition to this year’s team, said he understood the rivalry’s intensity.

“It’s fine,” Smith said. “It’s part of the game. I get fired up out there. Obviously the adrenaline gets going, the crowd gets going ... Drew is a competitive guy. Chucky is a feisty kid that is trying to make his way in this league. He had a heck of a night for us ... That’s just part of hockey.”

Tkachuk, the son of 19-year NHL veteran Keith Tkachuk, has definitely adopted his father’s aggressive, physical style of play. And while the younger Tkachuk hasn’t even turned 20 years old yet, he’s also proved to be quite skilled with 52 points in 80 career games, including four points in four games this season.

We don’t see feuds as often in hockey anymore as the culture evolves and greater emphasis is put on skill over hitting and fighting, but they’re not gone entirely. Tkachuk and Doughty’s ongoing hostility is a sign of that.