The Arizona Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres competed for the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft last season, but neither of them won the lottery.
This season has gone a bit different. The Sabres still are a bad team, but the Coyotes are in the playoff race because they play in the NHL’s weakest division.
Monday night’s game in Arizona was the final meeting of the season between these teams, and emotions were running high as the third-period horn sounded and the Sabres began celebrating a 2-1 victory.
Players on both teams gathered behind the Buffalo net, talking trash and shoving each other. Tempers eventually flared, and a brawl erupted. Coyotes captain Shane Doan, to no surprise, was among the main players involved. Even Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has zero fighting majors in six pro seasons, got into the mix.
