Hockey fans got to witness one of the most entertaining spectacles in all of sports on Monday.
A goalie fight broke out with 14 minutes left in a game Monday night between the Florida Panthers and San Jose Sharks that had gotten increasingly chippy with post-whistle pushing and shoving.
Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky beelined from his crease to even things up after San Jose’s Alex Nedeljkovic got involved in a scrum in the corner.
Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues’ hit on Vincent Desharnais behind the Sharks net sparked the fight. Nedeljkovic then went over to shove Rodrigues.
“I tripped the guy and then I got hit from behind,” Desharnais told reporters in the visitors’ dressing room, per The Athletic. “I was on the ice trying not to get stepped on. I got up and I just see Ned and Bob going at it, and I was like, ‘Did I miss something here?’ But it was a great fight. I don’t think Reavo (Ryan Reaves) needs to teach him anything. Maybe he can teach a thing or two to Reavo. That was awesome.”
Bobrovsky felt Nedeljkovic’s response to the hit “was a little much.”
“It’s exciting, but obviously it’s not a thing I’m doing for a living. It is what it is, but we had a good fight,” Bobrovsky said.
“I was just doing my best not to get punched,” Nedeljkovic said, per The Athletic. “He came out swinging, so I was just trying not to lose any teeth. It might have straightened my nose out a little bit more, but I don’t want it that way.”
Panthers fans chanted, “Bobby! Bobby!” after the two netminders were done tussling. Cheers followed when Bobrovsky returned from a brief trip to the locker room.
Bobrovsky and Nedeljkovic each got a five-minute major penalty for fighting and an additional two-minute penalty for leaving the crease to take part in an altercation. They stayed in the game.
“I couldn’t believe it. Best goalie in the world is doing that. It’s pretty incredible. We know what he’s meant to our team,” Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk said.
It’s the first goalie fight in the NHL since Mike Smith fought Cam Talbot in the Battle of Alberta on Feb. 1, 2020.
“We need to use that fire and energy from our backbone in Bob and use that this next road trip because let’s be honest, we’re not in a good spot at all right now in the standings,” Tkachuk said.
Here are some of the best reactions to the ultra-rare event that hockey fans were treated to on Monday:
— With files from the Associated Press
from Sportsnet.ca
via i9bet
No comments:
Post a Comment