Dustin Brown and Ryan Kesler might get along in Sochi in a few weeks time, but they weren’t in a friendly mood Monday.
With the temperature rising between the Vancouver Canucks and L.A. Kings in a Pacific Division showdown, Brown and Kesler dropped the gloves just six seconds into the second period. Kesler got the decided edge in the fight, landing several shots and getting Brown’s jersey over his head.
That fight was likely payback for Brown’s collision with goalie Roberto Luongo nine days ago. The result of that was Luongo suffering an ankle injury.
Brown and Kesler will be teammates for the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team in Sochi, Russia, in a few weeks time.
Kesler on fighting Olympic teammate Brown: "Everything that happened with Roberto last game, he knew from the opening puck drop he ... (1/2)
— Ben Kuzma 🇺🇦 (@benkuzma) January 14, 2014
(2/2) had to fight someone. A lot of guys stuck up for each other. That was a big statement by our team." #canucks
— Ben Kuzma 🇺🇦 (@benkuzma) January 14, 2014
Another fight in this game included: Kevin Bieksa versus Matt Greene.
Also, Canucks’ enforcer Tom Sestito was ejected early in the first period after he grabbed Jordan Nolan and thumped him with several punches off a faceoff. Sestito, who was credited with one second of ice time, received 27 penalty minutes on the infraction.