Pumping up the home crowd after a big fight is a great way to give your team an extra boost. Doing it when you’re already up 5-1 is a good way to tick off your opponents.
That’s why it’s no surprise that Blues bruiser Chris Stewart‘s beatdown of Colorado’s Cory Sarich on Thursday — and his ensuing celebratory raise of the arms to the home fans — was met with a quick response from Sarich’s teammates.
Two more fights followed within the next three minutes, and after the game — an eventual 7-3 win for St. Louis — several Avalanche players took issue with both Stewart’s post-fight actions and his choice to go after the 35-year-old defenseman, who is not known as a brawler.
“There is no brains,” Colorado defenseman Jan Hejda told reporters, via The Denver Post. “[Stewart is] just a guy who fights his whole life.”
“It’s a little gutless by him,” added goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who allowed five of the Blues’ seven goals in the contest, “but it’s an emotional game and these things will happen. At the end of the day, this is not why we lost the game. This team, we can beat. … I think, as of late playing here, we’ve given them too much respect.”
Check out the fight that sparked a night full of chippiness in the video below.
