Every Friday, FanHouse sifts through the rubble and picks the best NHL fight, with the help of HockeyFights.com.
Sometimes, one fight just isn't good enough. Such was the case in Calgary recently, as the Flames and Canucks met for one of six matchups between the division rivals this season. It took just 2:32 for two fights to break out. Even though there were two good scraps going on at once, there was a clear winner for our Fight of the Week honors.
During the Carolina Hurricanes' run to the Eastern Conference Finals, forward/pest Scott Walker made headlines for the wrong reason.
As the Bruins polished off a win over Carolina to stay alive in Game 5, Walker got mixed up with Boston defenseman Aaron Ward, a skirmish that ended with Walker punching Ward in the face. The incident didn't draw Walker a suspension, but he was forced to try to explain himself. Now, Walker and Ward will be coming face to face a bit more often.
After watching his team get thumped on its home ice, 6-1 on Sunday afternoon, Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville sounded off in the postgame press conference, berating the officiating crew of Marc Joannette and Kevin Pollock for issuing Matt Walker a roughing penalty at the end of the first period, leading to Detroit's third goal of the game.
Quenneville called it the worst call in the history of sports, and essentially used it as an excuse for his team not showing up in the second and third periods. As punishment for his rant, the NHL announced on Monday that Quenneville will be fined $10,000.
Tonight the Bruins and Hurricanes played a hockey game that went about as close as any game could. The two teams went toe-to-toe for nearly four periods, matching each other in every facet of the game. Goaltenders Cam Ward and Tim Thomas showed why they were big reasons as to how their teams made it to this point, making 35 and 34 saves respectively. Fittingly, the game headed to overtime and the Bruins would fall thanks to a familiar foe.
During Game 5 Scott Walker received a game misconduct for a punch -- or sucker punch depending on your view -- to the face of Aaron Ward. The NHL decided to rescind the automatic one game suspension that comes with an ejection and let him play, drawing the ire of Boston and many in the media. Tonight, Walker made a few more enemies in Boston by netting the game winning goal with 1:14 to go in overtime.
After some late-game fisticuffs on Tuesday, the Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks are set to take part in a one-and-done Game 7 at Joe Louis Arena, in a contest that has to be more entertaining -- from a competitive standpoint -- than what we saw on Wednesday in Washington. Depending on who you ask, the line brawl in the closing minutes of Game 6 could be a rallying cry for the Red Wings.
Anaheim vs. Detroit, 7 PM ET | series tied, 3-3 Carolina vs. Boston, 8 PM ET | Game 7 Preview | Where on TV?
The NHL's decision to rescind Scott Walker's mandatory one-game suspension as a result of his altercation with Aaron Ward on Sunday night was confusing to say the least. Walker's explanation as to why he punched Ward in the face is simply off the charts.
According to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, Walker was under the assumption that Ward actually threw the first punch. Seriously.
Carolina Hurricanes forward Scott Walker made some headlines on Sunday night for his one-punch knockout (pictured right) of Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward in the closing minutes of Boston's 4-0 win in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Walker was issued 17 minutes in penalties for the hit, including a two-minute instigator penalty.
Because the NHL is supposedly cracking down on late-game message sending and brawling, any player that receives an instigator penalty in the final five minutes of regulation -- or overtime -- is automatically suspended for the following game. The NHL's wheel of discipline, however, has decided to rescind that rule, as Walker will be available for Game 6 in Carolina on Tuesday night.
That picture pretty much sums up the entire third period of Sunday's 4-0 Boston win. As the Carolina Hurricanes were getting dominated in every aspect, Scott Walker decided to take out some of his frustrations on Aaron Ward by punching him in the face.
After losing three straight games for just the third time this season, the Boston Bruins were facing elimination on Sunday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Bruins, behind a 19-save shutout by Tim Thomas, managed to keep their season rolling with a commanding 4-0 win at TD Banknorth Garden.
Following Boston's 4-1 loss in Carolina on Friday, head coach Claude Julien made mention that his team picked a bad time to be playing its worst hockey of the season, getting outscored by a 10-3 margin during its three-game skid. For one night, all of that was forgotten as the Bruins played a relatively perfect game in every phase.
The New York Islanders, playing without Trent Hunter, Kyle Okposo, Dean McAmmond, and Andy Hilbert were simply in over their heads on Tuesday night against the runaway locomotive that is the Carolina Hurricanes, falling 9-0. Amazingly, the score isn't the most incredible series of numbers to come out of this game.
Honestly, we haven't seen a hockey game this one-sided since the Slovakia Women's National Team annihilated Bulgaria, 82-0, earlier this year. OK, maybe it wasn't quite that bad.
Every Friday, FanHouse sifts through the rubble and picks the best NHL fight, with the help of HockeyFights.com.
During the Carolina Hurricanes' run to the Eastern Conference Finals, forward/pest Scott Walker made headlines for the wrong reason.
After watching his team get thumped on its home ice, 6-1 on Sunday afternoon, Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville sounded off in the postgame press conference, berating the officiating crew of Marc Joannette and Kevin Pollock for issuing Matt Walker a roughing penalty at the end of the first period, leading to Detroit's third goal of the game. 
Tonight the Bruins and Hurricanes played a hockey game that went about as close as any game could. The two teams went toe-to-toe for nearly four periods, matching each other in every facet of the game. Goaltenders Cam Ward and Tim Thomas showed why they were big reasons as to how their teams made it to this point, making 35 and 34 saves respectively. Fittingly, the game headed to overtime and the Bruins would fall thanks to a familiar foe. 
The NHL's decision to rescind Scott Walker's mandatory one-game suspension as a result of his altercation with Aaron Ward on Sunday night was confusing to say the least. Walker's explanation as to why he punched Ward in the face is simply off the charts. 
Carolina Hurricanes forward Scott Walker made some headlines on Sunday night for his one-punch knockout (pictured right) of Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward in the closing minutes of Boston's 4-0 win in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Walker was issued 17 minutes in penalties for the hit, including a two-minute instigator penalty.
After losing three straight games for just the third time this season, the Boston Bruins were facing elimination on Sunday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Bruins, behind a 19-save shutout by Tim Thomas, managed to keep their season rolling with a commanding 4-0 win at TD Banknorth Garden. 
The New York Islanders, playing without Trent Hunter, Kyle Okposo, Dean McAmmond, and Andy Hilbert were simply in over their heads on Tuesday night against the runaway locomotive that is the Carolina Hurricanes, falling 9-0. Amazingly, the score isn't the most incredible series of numbers to come out of this game.
