When a team finally reaches the mountaintop after falling short in previous years, there is some concern that players will relent a little and succumb to a lapse, commonly known as a championship hangover. Well, the Florida Panthers are starting the 2024-25 campaign at full throttle, six weeks after winning their first-ever Stanley Cup title. The Boston Bruins looked powerless for much of the season opener in a game that was far less competitive than the 6-4 outcome suggests.

However, there was one specific instance when hard-nosed forward Trent Frederic tried to change the energy surrounding the game by displaying his trademark toughness. Early in the action, things got chippy between him and Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk. True to form, Frederic dropped his gloves and was ready to fight. The multi-time NHL All-Star did not bite, however, leaving the St. Louis, Missouri native as the only player who ended up in the two-minute penalty box.

Everything might not be how it seems, though. Frederic claims that Tkachuk asked him if he wanted to “go” before backing out. The 26-year-old thinks that he was duped into incurring a penalty, and needless to say, he is quite miffed about how things shook out.

“He actually asked me [to drop the gloves] because I was asking, and then he didn't,” Frederic told the media postgame, via NESN. “It's hard to read that… I didn't know people did that. I think that's a little disrespectful to the game.”

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Tkachuk is notably one of the few top guys who will fight, but what draws the ire of some fans is that he can ostensibly be selective when it comes to throwing hands. Regardless of what he said to Trent Frederic, or what his intentions were, he is probably feeling just fine after Tuesday's game.

The No. 6 overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft recorded an assist, while Sam Bennett tallied two goals in the Panthers' victory. Frederic scored in his own right, but it came in the third period when the game was already firmly in the grasp of the reigning champs.

After dropping a closely contested six-game series to Florida in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in May, Boston wanted to issue a strong statement to begin the new season. Alas, the Panthers might still be the standard in this league.Amerant bank Arena in back

Frederic and the Boston Bruins will get another shot at Tkachuk and the rest of this daunting squad on Monday afternoon in the TD Garden.