In the absolutely chonky file of “Hockey things I would never, ever do,” fighting Vegas Golden Knights enforcer Ryan Reaves ranks somewhere around blocking a Shea Weber shot.
Winnipeg Jets center Adam Lowry is known for his two-way play above everything else. That said, he’s drawn the ire of opponents lately with some hard hits. He recently received a two-game suspension for boarding, and wasted little time in showing that he’s not going to ease up on Saturday. Lowry absolutely leveled Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch, drawing something that might be worse than a suspension: he generated the anger of Reaves.
The Golden Knights weren’t exactly being coy about putting Reaves out there strictly to fight Lowry, as Reaves lined up in the faceoff circle. Lowry didn’t back down, either, promptly dropping the gloves and acquitting himself nicely.
According to Hockey Fights, Lowry has now been in 10 fights, now up to three in this calendar year. Reaves represents a mammoth jump in “weight class,” even for a big guy like Lowry, so credit to him for showing immense courage.
Allow me to make this clear: I would absolutely not do the same thing if I was in his skates and gloves.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.