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Cody McLeod fights, scores goal against former team one day after trade

Vancouver Canucks v Colorado Avalanche

DENVER, CO - FEBRUARY 09: Cody McLeod #55 of the Colorado Avalanche warms up prior to facing the Vancouver Canucks at Pepsi Center on February 9, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. The Canucks defeated the Avalanche 3-1. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

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Just a little more than 24 hours ago Cody McLeod was still a member of the Colorado Avalanche, the only team he had known for his first 10 years of his career. The only team he had known, that is, until he was traded to the Nashville Predators on Friday morning for prospect Felix Girard.

It just so happened that the Avalanche and Predators were meeting on Saturday afternoon in Colorado, and it did not take McLeod long to start causing trouble against his former team.

It all started early in the second period when McLeod, who is no stranger to the physical stuff, dropped the gloves with former teammate Jarome Iginla for a fight just off of a faceoff inside the Nashville zone.

OK, McLeod getting into a fight isn’t really anything out of the ordinary. It is already his 10th fight of the season (in only 29 games) and he is pretty regularly among the NHL’s leaders in fighting majors every season.

What is out of the ordinary is what happened later in the second period just after he served his fighting major -- he scored a goal.

Before Saturday McLeod had scored only one goal in 28 games for the Avalanche in what had been a greatly reduced role under first-year coach Jared Bednar. Apparently all it took was a new uniform to help him find the back of the net again.

His goal helped the Predators close to within a single goal of the Avalanche on the scoreboard.