Every Friday, FanHouse sifts through the rubble and picks the best NHL fight, with the help of HockeyFights.com.
Sometimes, we scour the internet looking for the best fight, only to be left underwhelmed. There are other weeks where this job couldn't possibly be any easier. The good fights jump at you, and the players involved are the guys you would expect to see in the big fights. This week's winning fight has some blood in it, so use caution as you proceed.
Every Friday, FanHouse sifts through the rubble and picks the best NHL fight, with the help of HockeyFights.com.
It's no secret what we're looking for in a good fight. It needs to have intensity, some good back-and-forth action, and there is some longevity needed. If two guys trade a flurry of punches for seven seconds, it's not nearly as impressive as a high-quality 30-second fight.
This week's top fight has a little bit of everything.
Monday night's Maple Leafs win over Anaheim featured plenty of penalties. In fact, five of Toronto's six goals were scored with the extra attacker.
Besides Anaheim's trademark undisciplined play, there was also a pretty intense fight. During the first period, Toronto's Colton Orr hooked up with Duck George Parros for an impressive heavyweight bout. While the fight was clean, Orr risked suspension by shoving an official during the bout. Video after the jump.
Every Friday, FanHouse sifts through the rubble and picks the best NHL fight, with the help of HockeyFights.com.
Some weeks, this job is just too easy. Our search for the best hockey fights includes a couple dandies this week, including a classic heavyweight battle in Toronto. It's the kind of bout that makes Brian Burke smile. Check out our runners-up, along with video of this week's best fight, after the jump.
After months of rumors and speculation the Boston Bruins finally made a move regarding 21-year-old restricted free agent Phil Kessel, trading the former No. 5 overall pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a pile of draft picks, including first and second-round selections in 2010 as well as a first-round pick in 2011.
We're a little less than 24 hours removed from Friday's Red Wings-Blackhawks game, which saw Chicago claw its way back into the series with a 4-3 overtime win, while a lot of the debate has been centered around Niklas Kronwall's devastating hit on Martin Havlat.
While Havlat was knocked six ways from Tuesday, Kronwall was issued a five-minute major and a game misconduct for interference which set off a firestorm of discussion around the hockey blogosphere and message boards. Was it interference? Was it charging? Was it a legal, clean hit? We asked the NHL for comment.
After watching his team drop the first two games of their opening round playoff series with the Rangers, Bruce Boudreau decided he needed to make a change. Out of the lineup came play-making center Michael Nylander, and in his place fell perennial enforcer Donald Brashear.
After those two games, it was clear that the Rangers had gained something of a physical edge over the surprised Capitals. And on Sunday in New York, Brashear showed exactly why Boudreau gave him another shot at postseason hockey, first picking a fight with Rangers enforcer Colton Orr during pre-game warmups and then crushing penalty-killer Blair Betts with a borderline hit that sent him to the locker room in the first period, never to return. Later reports today say that Betts suffered a broken orbital bone and is done for the rest of the playoffs.
Brashear will have to answer for both of those actions later today, when the league holds a hearing at 1:00 PM.
If you were looking for a more unlikely hero to step and save the season for the Washington Capitals, you'd have a tough time finding a better choice than right winger Matt Bradley. A plugger with a lot of heart who commands respect inside the Washington locker room for his work ethic, Bradley has never scored more than nine goals in a full season and only had five all season long.
But that didn't matter earlier this evening. With his team down three games to one to the New York Rangers and the season on the brink, Bradley scored a pair of first period goals that were all Washington needed on its way to a 4-0 win over the Rangers to force a Game Six on Sunday back in New York.
It all prompted us to take a look at the power play/penalty kill differential for every team across the league. But we needed more; we needed some perspective from the league. Luckily, Stephen Walkom, NHL director of officiating, was more than willing to talk it out.
Every Friday, FanHouse sifts through the rubble and picks the best NHL fight, with the help of HockeyFights.com.
Monday night's Maple Leafs win over Anaheim featured plenty of penalties. In fact, five of Toronto's six goals were scored with the extra attacker. 
Every Friday, FanHouse sifts through the rubble and picks the best NHL fight, with the help of HockeyFights.com.
Following a 1:00 PM hearing with the NHL Monday, Washington Capitals winger Donald Brashear, one of the most feared players in the NHL, has been suspended for six games by the NHL for actions he took before yesterday's playoff game with the New York Rangers.
After watching his team drop the first two games of their opening round playoff series with the Rangers, Bruce Boudreau decided he needed to make a change. Out of the lineup came play-making center Michael Nylander, and in his place fell perennial enforcer Donald Brashear. 
If you were looking for a more unlikely hero to step and save the season for the Washington Capitals, you'd have a tough time finding a better choice than right winger Matt Bradley. A plugger with a lot of heart who commands respect inside the Washington locker room for his work ethic, Bradley has never scored more than nine goals in a full season and only had five all season long.
