The first recorded modern ice hockey game finished in a fight, and despite calls to stamp fighting out of the sport, fighting remains a part of the game. A part with a long, long history.
[sc:NHL240 ]Over the decades of professional hockey there have been thousands upon thousands of scuffles, brawls, and dust ups that have led to hours and hours of penalty minutes. Of those thousands, here’s a nice compilation of some of the most memorable ones.
The Best Hockey Fights of All-Time
Best One-on-One Fight – Bob Probert vs. Tie Domi (1992)
Tie Domi is an inspiration to all the little goon wannabes out there. Domi – all of 5’10” – is a smaller man, but that didn’t stop him from being an all-time great goon. It also didn’t stop him from claiming the “championship belt” from the much taller Bob Probert. But Probert wasn’t considered an all-time great fighter for nothing. He pummeled Domi in their rematch to reclaim his title.
Best Goalie Fight – Ron Hextall vs. Felix Potvin (1996)
Everyone loves a good goalie fight, and they don’t get much better than Ron Hextall and Felix Potvin. As the horn sounded to end the game, the Leafs and Flyers couldn’t wait to get their hands on one another, especially the two goalies. Their teammates just watched in awe as the two fought their way to utter, bloody exhaustion.
Best Player vs. Fan Brawl – Bruins vs. Madison Square Garden (1979)
Throwing a cup of beer at Ron Artest is stupid, but smacking a hockey player, especially a member of the Big Bad Bruins, in the face and grabbing his stick (starting at about 1:43) is just plain suicidal. Sure, the Bruins’ reaction – to charge the stands of Madison Square Garden to beat up the offender – was unwise, but then again, wisdom is rarely a hockey player’s best attribute.
Best Line Brawl (Female Edition) – USA vs. Canada (2013)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B0kOcp_tCQ
The American and Canadian women’s hockey teams have proven not once, but twice, that the men aren’t the only ones who know how to throw down. Their two fights in 2013 in the space of three months have also proven rather emphatically that these women just plain don’t like one another. As Grantland’s Katie Baker put it, it’s not a rivalry, it’s a blood feud.
Best Line Brawl (Amateur Edition) – Unknown Russian Kids (2012)
Russians take hockey fighting to the extreme. That should really come as no surprise, given how the little comrades play (and fight) at such a young age.
We have no way to determine if the featured video is the exception rather than the rule, but based on what we know about Russia, having a penalty box containing almost the entire team is probably closer to the rule.
Best Line Brawl (Movie Edition) – Slap Shot (1977)
This wouldn’t be a self-respecting fight compilation if Slap Shot didn’t make an appearance. Aside from being just a hilarious sports movie, it also casts a critical look toward hockey fans and their thirst for such outrageous acts of violence.
Best Line Brawl (NHL Edition) – Flyers vs. Canadiens (1987)
The Canadiens have been involved in a lot of bruising fights throughout their storied history. Who can forget their epic wars against the Big Bad Bruins in 1970 and 1986? But their brawl against the Philadelphia Flyers has to take the cake.
The two teams wanted to fight one another so badly that a) just like in Slap Shot, they didn’t wait for the game to start; and b) some weren’t even fully dressed yet. Oh, and did we mention that a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals was at stake? Nothing like some high-stakes fisticuffs.
Best Line Brawl (International Edition) – Vityaz Chekhov vs. Avangard Omsk (2010)
The biggest, wildest, most penalized fight in modern history comes courtesy of those very friendly Russians. Vityaz Chekhov and Avangard Omsk went at it less than four minutes into their KHL game, and the brawl basically ended the game. The players were handed an astronomical 691 penalty minutes, which was later increased to 840 minutes, by far a world record.
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