We haven’t hyped up our first installments of Hockey Fights of the Week this year because the action within didn’t deserve an abundance of praise. We’ve seen some good fights, but it’s doubtful that any of the early scraps would be included in our recap of the year’s best.
Thankfully, that all changes this week. This time it was difficult to select just five and we feel there’s a couple of fights which could have easily made the list.
5. Simon Despres (PIT) vs Evander Kane (WIN) – Nov. 6th
This is kind of a weird one. Have you ever seen two guys looking so happy to be fighting? The grins on both men are huge. It’s also not common to see both players ditch their helmets after the NHL instituted additional penalties for the action. Meanwhile, Kane bests Despres and once again proves that size isn’t everything when it comes to dropping the mitts.
4. Matt Hendricks (EDM) vs Zac Rinaldo (PHI) – Nov. 4th
It’s not a long fight, but this battle between Hendricks and Rinaldo is an intense one. It’s tough to pick a winner here, but we’d side with Rinaldo if we were forced to choose.
3. Keith Aulie (EDM) vs Chris Stewart (BUF) – Nov. 7th
The Sabres haven’t won many games so far this season, so it’s safe to assume that most of the roster is pretty frustrated and angry. Stewart channels that anger in this fight with Aulie which he wins by a clear margin after a very slow start.
2. Ryan Reaves (STL) vs Dylan McIlrath (NYR) – Nov. 3rd
Reaves appeared to have a difficult time with McIlrath’s visor, but that didn’t limit him from landing some big blows on the New York Ranger. This is a great bout and one in which you could make a case for both sides, but we have to side with Reaves in this one.
1. Deryk Engelland (CGY) vs Liam O’Brien (WAS) – Nov. 4th
This might be your early contender for Fight of the Year. It’s a brief scrap, but it’s worthy of the “Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em” label. Who wins? It doesn’t matter. This is the type of fight we’ve been craving where two players stand toe-to-toe and throw and take blow after blow. Awesome.
Previous Installments:
A big “Thank you” to Hockey Fights, our #1 resource for hockey fight videos.
