The Boston Bruins beat the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in a nasty affair on Friday. Brad Marchand fighting Nikolaj Ehlers after Ehlers landed a huge hit was the highlight, but far from the only violent moment.
(Watch that series of escalating events in the video above.)
Violence extended beyond Ehlers - Marchand
Again, the violence wasn’t limited to Ehlers vs. Marchand. People dusted off boxing glove emojis for three fights in the second period. Overall, the teams combined for 74 penalty minutes.
Brandon Carlo also fought Gabriel Bourque:
Also, Luca Sbisa dropped the gloves with Karson Kuhlman:
You’d expect this kind of animosity between division or at least conference rivals. Instead, the Bruins and Jets rarely meet. Maybe that’s for the best for everyone’s teeth, knuckles, and brains.
Mayhem overshadows Rask return
The Jets often charge Connor Hellebuyck with saving the day, but they can’t blame Friday’s starter Laurent Brossoit for the loss. In this case, Tuukka Rask was up to the task, making 37 saves as Boston won despite Winnipeg’s 38-25 shots on goal advantage.
Special teams ended up being the biggest difference, beyond a successfully returning Rask. While the Jets squandered their power-play opportunities (0-for-6), the Bruins scored both of their goals on the man advantage (2-for-4).
It’s tempting to wonder if Brad Marchand wanted a little pest’s attention, what with all of the attention going Matthew Tkachuk’s way. Instead, it just seemed like Marchand was enraged by a big, hard hit by Ehlers. Oh well, if you cannot always get the juiciest narratives, at least there’s the carnage of all of those fights.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.