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.