Philip Danault beata down Jesse Puljujarvi in the first of 3 scraps
Last night's game between the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings quickly devolved into a grudge match as LA ran away with the game early. Midway through the second period while the Kings led by 3 goals, the Oilers physicality began to emerge by some unusual sources.
The first fight was between Jesse Puljujarvi and Philip Danault. Surprisingly, Puljujarvi initiated the contact with a massive open ice hit against Victor Arvidsson. Danault quickly came to the defence of his teammate, and promptly fed Puljujarvi his lunch. Neither player is much of a fighter, but Puljujarvi is often criticized for being too soft - he proved he has some heart here, but fighting doesn't look like a skill for Puljujarvi.
The next fight came midway through the third period, this time between Zach Hyman and Sean Durzi. After a brief discussion about the hits earlier in the game, and sizing each other up at the faceoff, the two dropped the gloves. This fight was mostly a wrestling match, again between two players not known as fighters, but Zach Hyman's strength proved to be too much for Durzi as Hyman didn't pull punches towards the end.
The last fight of the night was the best - this time between two established heavyweights, Brendan Lemieux and Klim Kostin. It was the most traditional hockey fight of the night, where two two guys square up and launch haymakers on repeat until one taps out. This time, Kostin got the best of Lemieux with some devastating right hooks. Lemieux kept himself in it, landing some good knocks himself, making it a quality, evenly matched fight.
With all this physicality, the next time the Oilers and Kings match up it'll be must-watch television. These teams have established a rivalry from their playoff series last year, and it seems the rage has boiled over into this season. This rivalry will be one to watch for seasons to come.
