We have seen some big KOs so far this season. Here are two of the more recent ones with Lightning’s B.J. Crombeen getting KO’d by Flyers Zac Rinaldo and Sabres John Scott KO’ing Bruins Shawn Thornton.
Blue Jackets Jared Boll has balls and maybe now a sore head as he dropped the gloves with Predators Brian McGrattan and took a beating. With Steve MacIntyre in the minors, is McGrattan the best enforcer in the league now? I love the way McGrattan fights, just standing there throwing punches until he is tired but he does leave himself open and sooner or later he may take one that knocks him woozy. Here’s the McGrattan-Boll fight, check out the rights that land on Boll’s head.
Talking about a bad team with Columbus they also have bad broadcasters. As you listen to the Columbus broadcast during that fight they have McGrattan’s name wrong. Who is McKracken? They’re also wrong how Nashville got McGrattan. The Predators claimed McGrattan off waivers from the Ducks on October 11th during the season, not in the offseason. Columbus managed to win the game in overtime, maybe that will delay Jeff Carter’s next trade request.
And maybe it’s karma for Jared Boll that he got beat up, as two nights ago he dropped the gloves with Bruins Shawn Thornton and broke the code as he threw two punches with the linesmen between them which really pissed off Thornton. I don’t know, I’m just saying.
Last night the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens had another epic game in their long storied rivalry. This game had lots of goals and line brawls. You can see all of the action in the video below. The goalie fight between Tim Thomas and Carey Price didn’t turn into what we were all hoping for but good to see anyways.
There have been some good hockey fights recently. You got to check out these good ones.
Cam Janssen vs John Scott, November 30, 2010
Scott handles Janssen well at the start, and then Janssen comes back late in the fight. Lots of punches in this one.
Shawn Thornton vs Eric Boulton, November 28, 2010
Good fight with Thornton getting the decision in this one.
John Scott vs Kevin Westgarth, November 27, 2010
Scott bloodies Westgarth in this one.
Brad Winchester vs Brian Sutherby, November 26, 2010
Winchester keeps throwing the rights and gets the win against Sutherby.
Matt Bradley vs Troy Bodie, November 24, 2010
Bodie shows his new teammates what he can do as he cuts Bradley open in this fight.
Jared Boll vs Trevor Gillies, November 24, 2010
Boll puts a late hit on John Tavares so Gillies comes over and smacks Boll around.
Kevin Westgarth vs Chris Neil, November 22, 2010
They drop the gloves soon after the faceoff and exchange major punches with Neil getting the better of the younger Westgarth. Nothing new with Neil throwing punches late at a player down in a vulnerable position.
If you saw Thursday’s game between the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins then you saw possibly the best fight of the season so far, with Darcy Hordichuk and Shawn Thornton slugging it out. Both guys landed some bombs and when it ended both guys had marks to show. Thornton had a bloody nose while Hordichuk had a bruised left eye and a nasty cut under his left eye.
Lots of people have been saying that New York Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard may have a hard time finding opponents to drop the gloves with but the past few days he has found two. First he dropped the gloves with Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer Colton Orr on Thursday and then last night he dropped the gloves with Boston Bruins enforcer Shawn Thornton.
Derek Boogaard vs Colton Orr (October 21, 2010)
Derek Boogaard vs Shawn Thornton (October 23, 2010)
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Colton Orr, right, fights with Calgary Flames forward Brian McGrattan, left, during first-period NHL hockey game action on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009, in Toronto. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Nathan Denette)
The next division we’ll take a look at, in our second part in a look at team’s enforcers for the upcoming season series, is the Northeast division.
The first team we’ll look at is my favorite and hometown team, the Boston Bruins. Shawn Thornton will be the enforcer once again for the Bruins this season. Thornton is not a heavyweight in size but had 21 fights in 74 games last season. Ex-Senator/Coyote/Flame Brian McGrattan was invited to the B’s training camp so look for him to challenge Thornton for that enforcer spot or at least a roster spot, but I’m guessing he’ll be either sent to the AHL or be released. I’m hoping he is kept in the Bruins system and brought up if needed. McGrattan played 34 games with the Calgary Flames last season and got into 14 fights.
The next team we’ll look at are the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres haven’t had an enforcer since they let Andrew Peters go a few years back. They do have Tim Conboy on their roster but I don’t know if he’ll make the team and even if he does, is anyone afraid of him?
Up next are the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens are another team that doesn’t have an enforcer on their roster. Georges Laraque is now gone from the Canadiens and maybe doing more energy drink commercials?
Next up are the Ottawa Senators. The Senators have Matt Carkner and Chris Neil to be their team’s enforcers. Last season Carkner had 24 fights in 81 games. While Neil had 13 fights in 68 games. Francis Lessard is on the Senators training camp roster but I doubt he will make the team.
And last are the Toronto Maple Leafs, no not last in the division rankings… I think… ok yeah I’m just joking they’ll probably be last in the division by the season’s end, but if Carey Price sucks in net for Montreal then the Leafs may have more points than Montreal, who knows. The Leafs have one of the best tough guys in Colton Orr as their enforcer. Orr had 23 fights in 82 games last season. It’s rare to see a tough guy play in every game during the season, because of injuries and sometimes healthy scratches, but kudos to Orr. The Leafs signed small tough guy Mike Brown who will take on any lightweights-to-middleweights if necessary. Brown had 14 fights in 75 games last season. With Orr and Brown on the roster, there’s a small chance that tough guy Jay Rosehill will be needed, but you never know as he made the team at the start of last season.
The next division we will look at is the Southeast division. Stay tuned for that post!
Past parts of this series
Saturday night the NHL’s biggest cheap pussy, Matt Cooke, got knocked the fuck out by Atlanta Thrashers rookie Evander Kane. Cooke got what was coming to him as he challenged Kane, probably thinking he would have his way with the youngster, and he got knocked the fuck out by a big right hand from Kane. As a Bruins fan I was definitely happy to see this, I wish Shawn Thornton was able to do this, but Cooke deserves more than this from all the players he has hurt during his career. I wonder if he got a concussion from this knockout. Karma.
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