(Image via Nicole Shuster, originally found at The Pensblog.)
During the Calgary Flames magical playoff run that brought them within one win of a Stanley Cup, Jarome Iginla made a name for himself by scoring a ton of the team’s goals but also made waves by fighting just about anyone. It was a rare moment in which a star player acquitted himself nicely in the field of fisticuffs.
While this bout is far from Cam Janssen’s two and a half minute long fight, Evgeni Makin and Rick Nash dropped the gloves in last night’s 3-1 Penguins win. (Watch the video here.)
Almost 91 percent of Hockey Fights.com’s readers gave Malkin the “win” while 4.5 percent chose “draw” and the remaining 4.5 percent somehow thought Nash won the battle.
The Pensblog put up some interesting stills of the fight as they were waiting for video footage. Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy provided a little write-up of the fight while the Columbus Dispatch’s Puck-Rakers Blog provided some interesting context that might explain why it happened in the first place.
Nash showed leadership throughout the game including a big open-ice hit on Malkin in the second period. The line of Nash, Derick Brassard and Voracek held its own against the Makin, Crosby and Brett Sterling. The Jackets’ trio combined for six shots and was on the ice for a goal for each team. Malkin got the best of Nash in the fight as he managed to pull the captain’s jersey over his head. “I don’t know if that was left over from the Olympics, but you don’t see that often,” Arniel said of two star fighting.
Nash said Malkin slashed him repeatedly during faceoffs. Malkin is a competitor, and you’ve got to believe open-ice hit didn’t sit well with the big Russian.
Said Nash: That’s part of the game. You battle with one player all night and sometimes it ends up in a fight.”