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On Thursday, the Vancouver Canucks faced off against the Florida Panthers, where Teddy Blueger and Uvis Balinskis, both from Latvia, shocked fans with their fight as the Canucks won 3-2 in overtime. After the game, though, Blueger and Balinskis shared a hug.
Insider Dan Murphy shared this moment on X (formerly Twitter) and noted that despite their fight, the two hugged afterward. Blueger and Balinskis played for Latvia in the IIHF World Championships in 2017 and 2018.
Here's the video:
Balinskis is beginning his first full NHL season. The 28-year-old defenseman played for the Panthers and their AHL team, the Charlotte Checkers, last year. He wants to make an impact in the NHL after developing his skills in Europe and performing well in the Czech league. Last season, he scored a goal and had three points in 26 NHL games.
Blueger, who's 30, is a more experienced player and is known as a reliable defensive forward. Before joining the Vancouver Canucks, he played for the Pittsburgh Penguins. After a strong season last year, he signed a two-year contract worth $3.6 million. On Thursday, he scored a goal against Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky in the first period.
“It’s a good feeling to win,” Blueger said after the game (via NHL.com). “It was a tight game.
"They’re obviously a good team even though they are missing some key guys. … This is good for our team, good for our character and morale, finding a way to get it done.”
Blueger recognized the challenge of facing a strong team, even though they were missing key players.
Vancouver Canucks come out on top in OT, Teddy Blueger helps with early goal
The Vancouver Canucks earned a 3-2 overtime win against the Florida Panthers, with J.T. Miller scoring the game-winning goal in overtime, beating the goalie with a wrist shot.
"It's nice that we can take a deep breath and keep going," Miller said.
Teddy Blueger and captain Quinn Hughes also scored for Vancouver. The game was tight, with both teams going back and forth in the first two periods.
The Panthers' goals came from Jesper Boqvist and Anton Lundell, while no goals were scored in the third period. Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said:
“We have some work to do, but there was some good stuff in there. There were times where we had some possession time, had some chances.
"Hey, that’s a championship team and they are missing some key guys. It was a hard-fought win. Winning in overtime is nice because that’s our third overtime.”
Vancouver’s goalie, Kevin Lankinen, made 26 saves to help secure the victory.
