NHL Playoffs 2012: Top 7 Fights of Round 1

The 2012 NHL playoffs have been exciting thus far, as well as violent. In addition to astounding games with an abundance of goals, there have been brutal hits and jaw dropping fights.

This article is dedicated the best fights the playoffs have offered us so far. They have added to the already exciting games for the better, in most cases.

Joe Pavelski vs. Kris Russell

Things got testy when the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks met in Game 2, as a melee in front of the net broke out.

When it was all said and done, Joe Pavelski of the Sharks ended up scrapping with Kris Russell of the Blues.

Pavelski showed a lot of courage going up against Russell, who in my opinion is a better fighter. In the end, it showed, as Russell worked in a few punches and grounded Pavelski until the refs broke it up.

Winner: Kris Russell

The Entire End of Game 2 Between St. Louis and San Jose

The end of the game turned into a full line brawl between the Blues and the Sharks.

It all ended with an unnecessary check, and then emotions got the better of the two teams.

In the end, we saw three separate fights take place. Vladimir Sobotka picked a fight with Dominic Moore, Roman Polak took on Justin Braun and Barrett Jackman fought Douglas Murray.

Winner: The fans, even though there were technically three winners. 

Tommy Wingels vs. Chris Stewart

What started off as a basic freeze by the goalie quickly escalated into a great fight between Tommy Wingels and Chris Stewart.

Both men threw huge punches, even though it appeared that Stewart had the upper hand.

Either way, both men entertained the crowd with a solid scrap.

Winner: Chris Stewart 

Shea Weber vs. Todd Bertuzzi

I have never been a fan of Todd Bertuzzi, especially after what he did to Steve Moore.

That said, he did the right thing here in picking a fight with Shea Weber, the man who slammed his teammate's face into the boards with basically no repercussions. 

This is a pretty good fight as well, as confirmed in the middle of the video, when the fight ends and both teams show their appreciation. It was a close one, but not enough for a draw.

Winner: Shea Weber

Brandon Prust vs. Chris Neil

This fight was good from the get-go, despite a bad camera angle at one point in the fight.

Both men were throwing everything into their punches, looking to knock each other's heads off.

Chris Neil was in a few fights in these playoffs and was pretty successful in doing so. Nevertheless, this was yet another example of a solid playoff fight.

Winner: Chris Neil

Sidney Crosby vs. Claude Giroux, Kris Letang vs. Kimmo Timonen

A couple of surprising participants fought here, when Sidney Crosby fought Claude Giroux.

In addition to that, Kris Letang squared off with Kimmo Timonen in an exciting brawl.

It was interesting to see Crosby fight, as he is usually a target of enforcers on other teams.

The entire Flyers-Penguins series was amazing, but this fight was one of the better ones.

Winners: Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby

Scott Hartnell vs. Craig Adams

In yet another Flyers-Penguins brawl, we saw Craig Adams of Pittsburgh throw down with Scott Hartnell of Philadelphia.

In my estimation, Adams hit Hartnell from behind with a couple of cheat shots.

Hartnell got turned around and eventually got in some punishment of his own.

Winner: Scott Hartnell