Iginla wants Tkachuk to keep battles on the ice

Jarome Iginla was happy with the Los Angeles Kings' response to Matthew Tkachuk, but he wishes the kid would limit his antics to within the games themselves.

The 39-year-old appeared to hint at comments made by the Calgary Flames rookie earlier this week after the Kings dispatched the Flames 4-1 on Wednesday night.

"We were trying to play hard and send a message," Iginla told Bo Hamby of LAKingsInsider.com. "... Hopefully most of that stuff is done and I'm sure there'll be battles for years, but hopefully it'll just be out on the ice."

Tkachuk called out Kings defenseman Drew Doughty on Tuesday, telling Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun that he "expected more from (Doughty), honestly, than to go right to the media and start complaining after a loss."

Doughty called Tkachuk "a pretty dirty player" after he was elbowed in the head by the Flames forward on March 19, an incident that earned Tkachuk a two-game suspension.

The Kings retaliated early in Wednesday's contest, as Brayden McNabb dropped the gloves with the 19-year-old just over three minutes into the game.

Related - Watch: Kings, Tkachuk settle score with 1st-period scrap

Iginla, a former Flame and the longest-serving captain in team history, knows how important the first-year player is to the success of the club, but again encouraged Tkachuk to keep his aggressiveness within the playing surface.

"Well, I don't know if I agree with all of it. So we'll just leave it at that," he said.

"He's had a good rookie season. Playing well on the team, an important part, and he looks like he's going to be a really good player but it'd be nice just to see the battles on the ice as opposed to the other stuff and it'll be fun to watch. Obviously our fans are not going to like him for a long time or ever and vice versa but that's part of the fun part of sports."

Iginla posted a Gordie Howe hat trick in Wednesday's victory, his possible final game in Calgary, preventing the Flames from clinching a playoff berth.