In honor of tomorrow's game between the Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, I present this classic line brawl from 1989 between these two clubs just to show that this is not a recent rivalry. I remember this game from back in the day because it was like many a game between the Caps and Pens back then: the Pens won the game, the Caps won the fights.
This game was the first of a home-and-home and in this first game at the old Capital Centre, the Penguins scored something like 3 goals on 4 shots against Pete Peeters (I think) to turn this one into a laugher by the 2nd period. Late in the 3rd period, this fight broke out and Alan May transformed himself from anonymous 4th liner to full-fledged cult hero by pounding the beejeezus out of Pens defenceman Gord Dineen. The next night the two teams played in Pittsburgh and another line brawl like this broke out in the 3rd period. Ah, those were the days.
Showing posts with label brawl of the week. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brawl of the week. Show all posts
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Your Hockey Brawl of the Week
Well, it's Saturday night and I got one last post for you suckas for the night. It's part of a new feature here on Hangar 39, The Hockey Brawl of the Week. The idea is to post up a famous or crazy line brawl from the NHL's past and present and post here for your amusement.
Our debut brawl is from the 1984 playoffs and its one of the most famous brawls in the history of the league: the Vendredi Saint(French for Good Friday)Brawl between the Quebec Nordiques (now the Colorado Avalanche)and the Montreal Canadiens.
Before I put the clip up, let me just provide a little backstory. The NHL in the 80s was the golden age of great rivalries. The league was a smaller place (21 clubs) so teams played each other more often and were able to develop some real animosity towards each other. You had the Battle of Alberta (Calgary vs. Edmonton), Montreal-Boston, Rangers-Islanders, Caps-Flyers, Chicago-St. Louis, among others. One of the nastiest in the first half of the decade was the Battle of Quebec between the Canadiens and Nordiques. The action was heated enough on the ice but throw in the completely insane French-Canadian fans and you get this, probably the signature moment of the rivalry. Pay attention to after the first part of the fight, how the PA announcer continues to read off the penalties, even as the teams start fighting again. Also keep an eye out for future Cap Dale Hunter doing Dale Hunter-like things. It has been said that the rivalry between these clubs died the minute Hunter was traded to DC.
Our debut brawl is from the 1984 playoffs and its one of the most famous brawls in the history of the league: the Vendredi Saint(French for Good Friday)Brawl between the Quebec Nordiques (now the Colorado Avalanche)and the Montreal Canadiens.
Before I put the clip up, let me just provide a little backstory. The NHL in the 80s was the golden age of great rivalries. The league was a smaller place (21 clubs) so teams played each other more often and were able to develop some real animosity towards each other. You had the Battle of Alberta (Calgary vs. Edmonton), Montreal-Boston, Rangers-Islanders, Caps-Flyers, Chicago-St. Louis, among others. One of the nastiest in the first half of the decade was the Battle of Quebec between the Canadiens and Nordiques. The action was heated enough on the ice but throw in the completely insane French-Canadian fans and you get this, probably the signature moment of the rivalry. Pay attention to after the first part of the fight, how the PA announcer continues to read off the penalties, even as the teams start fighting again. Also keep an eye out for future Cap Dale Hunter doing Dale Hunter-like things. It has been said that the rivalry between these clubs died the minute Hunter was traded to DC.
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