Friday’s game between the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers featured five fights. Here’s video and analysis for each of them.
Fight #1: Aaron Volpatti versus Steve Downie
Analysis: 94.6% of people on www.hockeyfights.com thought that Aaron Volpatti won that fight. I’d like to meet the 5.4% who thought it was a draw or thought that Steve Downie won that fight. The fight was extremely one-sided. Downie’s mouth has a tendency to write checks that his posterior can’t cash, and this time it hurt him. Downie suffered a concussion during this fight.
Fight #2: Tom Wilson vs. Wayne Simmonds
NOTE: The video below shows the rest of the four fights.
Wilson-Simmonds fight is from 0:24 to 0:36
Analysis: I’d call this fight a draw. Wilson held his own against one of the better fighters in the league. Can’t really pick a winner in this fight. I also don’t have much to go on as far as seeing just the Wilson-Simmonds fight. From what I saw though (about twelve seconds), it was an even fight. Got to respect Tom Wilson for not being afraid to fight anyone. I’d give this one a 6 out of 10, though as I mentioned, didn’t get to see that much of the fight.
Fight #3: Braden Holtby versus Ray Emery
Holtby-Emery fight is from 0:37 to 1:04
Analysis: Emery is the obvious winner. I love a good goalie fight, but wow did Emery go overboard. Completely uncalled for. Fighting is meant to be between two willing combatants, not one willing combatant and one guy who clearly doesn’t want to fight. The punches to the back of Holtby’s head are disgusting. One of the unwritten rules in hockey fights is that you don’t hold somebody and punch them in the back of the head repeatedly. There’s a huge difference between “fighting” and “deliberately attempting to injure somebody”. Emery is clearly attempting to injure Holtby, and there is no excuse for his actions. I’m quite livid that Emery will not be getting suspended for his actions and comments after the game, and I’d love to hear your argument if you think Emery shouldn’t be suspended.
What makes me even more livid about this fight is that the refs shouldn’t have even allowed it to happen. Should have restrained Emery when it was clear that Holtby didn’t want to fight. At the very least, they should have intervened immediately once Emery started punching the back of Holtby’s head. The NHL is usually reluctant to punish their referees, but in this case, I think that the referees should be punished because they lost complete control of the game. Those referees should be thankful that Holtby wasn’t injured.
Flyers fans can rejoice in Emery kicking Holtby’s butt and call it a moral victory if they so choose, but…
Fight #4: Alexander Urbom vs. Brayden Schenn
Urbom-Schenn fight is from 1:07 to 1:22.
Analysis: A very good fight from what I saw. Both guys threw in some good punches, I think Schenn probably landed more punches than Urbom did though. Even though Urbom got the takedown, I have to give this fight a draw. Just gained a ton of respect for Urbom for not backing down from Schenn and for sticking up for his goaltender.
In general, I loved how the Capitals flocked to the Holtby-Emery fight and tried to intervene. They knew the consequences if they were the third man in the fight (an automatic game misconduct), but they didn’t care. Had the refs allowed them to intervene, there’s no doubt in my mind that they would have. They would have been willing to take a game misconduct (and a potential suspension) to defend their goalie, and for that, I respect the heck out of the Capitals for that.
Fight #5: Steve Oleksy vs. Vincent Lecavalier
Oleksy-Lecavalier fight is from 1:23-1:28.
Analysis: From what I saw, Oleksy is the obvious winner of this fight. To be fair, this was not an even fight- Oleksy is a legitimate fighter, Lecavalier is not.
No discipline hearings have been scheduled yet.
