The Calgary Flames were down 4-1 to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, when a startling bit of violence served as a catalyst for an even-more-startling 6-5 comeback win.
Ian Cole delivered a vicious hit on Mark Jankowski, who was made vulnerable thanks to a “suicide pass.” Without even a moment’s hesitation, Sam Bennett - a player who’s been lampooned for failing to manage a pull up - rushed in and absolutely pummeled Cole with a bunch of furious punches.
(Check out that quick-but-brutal fight in the video above this post’s headline.)
Bennett’s Flames teammates and head coach Bill Peters weren’t shy about giving him a ton of credit for stepping up, or in Bennett’s words, “policing” the matter.
"Bennett stepped up at the end of the period and really ignited the locker room heading into the third."#Flames head coach Bill Peters shares his thoughts on tonight's win over the Avs. https://t.co/OjMj0BEm8y
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) November 2, 2018
Was it really the turning point?
Honestly, if you’re even remotely analytics-minded, it’s tempting to dismiss such discussions outright. After all, the Flames carried as many shots on goal (26) into the third period as the Avalanche ended up firing on net during the entire game. Maybe it was just a case of Calgary being “due?”
It says a lot that Bennett didn’t score a point during that surge, and was actually in the locker room for a portion of that rally.
“I was in the training room getting a little work done on my hands and missed (Elias Lindholm’s goal 47 seconds into the third),” Bennett said, via Sportsnet’s Eric Francis. “Then I started to ride the bike and keep my legs loose because I knew I wasn’t going to be out for a bit — we scored another goal there.
Another one I didn’t even see because I was in here changing, and when we scored to tie it, someone came in and yelled that we tied it up.”
There’s a counterpoint that doesn’t have to be purely primal, though.
An 82-game season is a marathon, a sometimes-grueling slog. Yes, it’s only early November, but for a team that’s been frustrated as often as Calgary has been so far, it may be tough to avoid a sense of tedium. With that in mind, is it that outrageous to wonder if such a visceral fight might like a fire under the Flames?
Real or imagined, Bennett’s Flames teammates gave him the equivalent of their player of the game honor:
Plenty of cuts on his hands to match those on the bridge of his nose for the Flames player of the game. No question, Sam Bennett earned the CPS hat for turning things around with his fight. pic.twitter.com/guecCwPofO
— Eric Francis (@EricFrancis) November 2, 2018
This isn’t the only time Bennett’s dropped the gloves. The 22-year-old has been credited with six regular-season fights and one preseason bout, including three during the 2016-17 season, by Hockey Fights’ count.
Yes, the Flames would like Bennett to do more scoring than punching with the hands that inspired them to pick him fourth overall in 2014 (ahead of the likes of David Pastrnak, William Nylander, and Nikolaj Ehlers), yet you can’t really accuse the forward of indifference.
Especially since it’s clear he can throw a punch.
MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule
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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.