FanHouse Matt Bradley

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.

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.

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After being stuck on 49 goals for two whole games, Alex Ovechkin became the first -- and perhaps only -- player to hit the 50-goal plateau this season, beating Tampa Bay's Mike McKenna midway through the first period of Washington's 5-2 win. And then he celebrated as only Ovechkin can.

As previously noted, there were some fisticuffs in Tuesday night's game between the Capitals and Predators in Nashville. We had Jordin Tootoo bloodying Washington's Matt Bradley, but that wasn't the first fight of the night.

Just moments earlier, Capitals heavyweight Donald Brashear tangled with Wade Belak of the Predators. Brashear is a veteran and a very tough man, so it was very surprising to see this fight end with Brashear on the canvas ice.

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Ryan O'Byrne has yet to score a goal this season, and thus far, only has one in his brief NHL career. Unfortunately for Montreal, the 24-year old rearguard scored on his own net with just under five-minutes to play in regulation on Monday night, sending the game to overtime. The own-goal proved to be costly for Montreal, as the Islanders took the game in a shootout, 4-3, picking up the extra point and winning for the fifth time in their past six games.

The O'Byrne gaffe happened on a delayed penalty call, which led to Canadiens goalie Carey Price heading to the bench for the extra-attacker. O'Byrne, unfortunately, sent the puck backwards toward the yawning net -- as seen in the above video -- tying the game at three, much to the chagrin of the Bell Centre crowd.

Seriously, that's just painful to watch. O'Byrne instantly covered his face and looked like he wanted to dig a hole in the ice and crawl out of the arena. What do you even say after that?

Islanders forward Bill Guerin was credited for what will surely be the easiest goal of his career.

Richard Park and Trent Hunter scored the other goals for the Islanders, while Steve Begin, John Gorges and Maxim Lapierre scored for Montreal.

At the end of last night's playoff game between Washington and Philadelphia, it was easy for one to get lost in the excitement. After a five-year absence from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the locals were getting their playoff sea legs back with a vengeance, raising the decibel level inside Verizon Center to a place it hadn't been since the magical ride to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1998.

And as the locals screamed in response to a third period comeback keyed by young stars Mike Green and Alex Ovechkin, you might be forgiven for overlooking the workmanlike performance of Matt Bradley. But if you did, it would be a mistake.

If you take a look at his numbers during the regular season, there doesn't seem a lot to be impressed with -- just seven goals and 11 assists. But hockey is a game where numbers can deceive almost as often as they clarify, and such is the case with Bradley, a player whose speed, energy and willingness to attack on the forecheck have proven to be invaluable.

Bradley's willingness to sacrifice for his teammates doesn't end there. Interestingly enough, on a team where Donald Brashear's fists get all of the headlines, Bradley wound up dropping his gloves almost as often this season, ringing up 10 fighting majors to Brashear's 12. The one incident that sent my respect level for Bradley through the roof came on March 8, when the Caps and Bruins played a return engagement after Washington had leveled the Bruins at home, 10-2, only a few days before.

Wanting to set the tone early, Boston rookie Milan Lucic, all 6'4" and 220 pounds, decided to take his rage out on Bradley, only 6'2" and 200 pounds. Though hockey's unwritten code would have demanded that a heavyweight like Lucic fight Brashear and not Bradley, the Washington winger hung in there and never turtled.

Here's a fun and goofy feature to kill some time with. Lisa Hillary of Comcast SportsNet DC tagged along with Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin, Matt Bradley and Mike Green as they took an impromptu tour of some of Washington's better known landmarks while riding Segways:


For more details, check out the first person account from Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post. Don't miss the part where a U.S. Park Policeman gives Ovechkin a hard time for riding the Segway too close to the National Christmas Tree.