With fighting on the decline, it’s especially exciting to see unseasoned fighters drop the gloves, at least if you’re into that sort of thing.
Saturday presented at least two rare fights, as Jordan Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes battled with Dallas Stars defenseman Jamie Oleksiak while Toronto Maple Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk engaged in an unusual bout with towering (but not necessarily ultra-violent) Buffalo Sabres blueliner Rasmus Ristolainen.
Staal vs. Oleksiak can be seen in the video above this post’s headline from a 5-2 Stars win.
According to Hockey Fights, this is the second scuffle of the season for Staal. Before this season, he hadn’t fought since being a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins back in 2009-10. Oleksiak is a more frequent combatant; he’s now fought three times this season and three times in 2015-16.
Ristolainen has only been credited with one fight so far in his young career, although he did seem to exchange niceties with Arizona Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, as you may note from this post’s main image. This appears to be JVR’s third NHL fight.
OK, so it wasn’t exactly “The Rumble in the Jungle,” but still ...
The best part of that squabble might just be this joke:
James van Riemsdyk VS . Rasmus Ristolainen. The fight with the fewest punches but the most letters in NHL history. Probably.
— Hugh Burrill (@hughwburrill) February 12, 2017
More: P.K. Subban’s misadventure with Vincent Trocheck.