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Dion Phaneuf Pulls Bogus Move, Breaks Fighter’s Code in Bout With Nathan Horton

Some 100 years from now, when some great hockey historian is recapping the great fights in NHL history, there's a 0.0007 percent chance he'll mention the bout between Dion Phaneuf and Nathan Horton from Thursday night.

That still doesn't make what Phaneuf did acceptable.

The 25-year-old D-man is known much more for his skills than his strength, but he and Horton had exchanged pleasantries all evening and finally decided to drop the gloves at 10:58 of the second period.

It wasn't much of a fight, as neither player landed a solid punch before the two hit the deck. Once Phaneuf was on his back, though, Horton let up, as not to punch a man while he's down.

Despite this, Phaneuf felt the need to take a shot at Horton, who was quite clearly done punching.

As a result, Horton dove back onto Phaneuf for a little extra, but thanks to two linesmen in his way, he didn't get to inflict much pain.

Both players were obviously given five-minute fighting majors, but Horton had an extra 10-minute misconduct penalty tacked on. The Bruins lost their leading scorer for 15 minutes while Phaneuf skated free.

It wasn't the end of the world, but it's never OK for a guy to start throwing punches after a fight is over.

Phaneuf's move, combined with Tim Brent's epic dive for the ages to draw a hooking call on Adam McQuaid late in the third, made those Maple Leafs jerseys look an awful lot like those of the Canadiens — at least for one night.

Did Phaneuf cross the line, or is all fair when fists fly? Share your thoughts below.