Dallas Stars forward Jason Spezza has not been much of a fighter in his NHL career.
According to his hockeyfights.com player page, he had only been involved in four fights during his 14-years in the league entering Saturday, with none of them coming since March 3, 2009, when he fought then Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf.
That fight-less drought came to an end early in the second period on Saturday afternoon when he decided to drop the gloves with Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Brandon Manning.
It all started in front of the Flyers’ net when Spezza pushed Manning down from behind away from the play. As Manning was on the ice, he slashed Spezza across the leg. As soon as Manning returned to his feet, Spezza dropped his gloves.
Have a look.
It has been a tough year for both Spezza and the Stars, so this was probably the result of some frustration boiling over. Having missed seven games this season due to injury, he is one of the many Stars forwards that has missed extended time this season. He has five goals and 10 assists in the 27 games he has played entering Saturday.
The Stars entered the day with a disappointing 12-14-6 record and were just 4-7-1 in their past 12 games.