Capitals-Devils: Why the Verizon Center Fight Night Was Okay Until the End

When the Washington Capitals exploded for four goals in the second period of Saturday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils it became more and more apparent that the Devils were not going to let the Capitals off the ice easily.

With about four-and-a-half minutes to go in the contest, Mike Green threw a late—albeit harmless—check to Ilya Kovalchuk behind the net. Kovalchuk challenged Green. When the two (finally) agreed to tussle, the linesmen jumped out of the way and both high- priced players squared off, most likely much to the chagrin of Coaches John MacLean and Bruce Boudreau.

The fight ended harmlessly; both flailing, no solid punches landed, Kovalchuk and Green took an early shower.

Rod Pelley took the next faceoff for the Devils, and from the wing position Matt Hendricks stood over him—four gloves and two sticks subsequently went flying.  An even bout the whole way, Pelley eventually took down Hendricks, and they skated off.

Not to be outdone, two of the NHL’s best middleweights, David Clarkson and Matthew Bradley, squared off. Bradley landed a hard right that knocked down Clarkson, and both took a seat for the rest of the game.

All three fights were mutual, and nobody was injured. The Devils were issuing a statement about not being happy about the lopsided loss, and the Capitals were answering by taking part in the fisticuffs.

It all seemed to be over; it seemed the game would end quietly. However, MacLean called the number of Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond to skate the next shift. Leblond chased Capitals rookie center Marcus Johansson through the neutral zone, slashing him and eventually jumping him just inside of Washington’s defensive zone.

Rookie defenseman John Carlson was the first Capital on the scene, jumping over Leblond. All ten players on the ice dropped their gloves, though no significant altercations took place. Leblond was pulled away from the fray and assessed 21 minutes in penalties; Carlson would also receive a fighting major and a game misconduct.

Since the incident occurred within the last five minutes of the game, Leblond was in violation of an instigator rule installed by the NHL three years ago. Because of his actions, Leblond was suspended automatically for one game, and MacLean was assessed a fine of $10,000.  

This is an instance in which the instigator rule was applied perfectly. Johansson knew he had no reason getting into a scrap with Leblond. He turned him down at the faceoff when asked and skated away once the puck was dropped. As you can see during the replay, Leblond had no interest in the location of the puck whatsoever.

Leblond, himself, was trying to enter himself onto the list of names of NHL heavyweights. Now he is serving a one-game suspension and was subsequently waived by the Devils. Leblond had cracked the Devils' opening-night roster and was given a chance to get into some meaningful battles with the NHL’s best. Now he has a free passage to Albany and the American Hockey League.

MacLean and general manager Lou Lamoriello insisted the waiving of Leblond was not disciplinary, and the signing of utility man Adam Mair makes that theory credible. However, you can only last so long on a NHL roster costing your coach ten grand a game.

This kind of statement game occurs a handful of times during a season. The scenario is usually the same: a team having the game taken to them on the scoreboard decides not to let the opposition take a cakewalk to the locker room. In most cases it is usually an acceptable, fan-friendly occurrence. Willing combatants for both teams finish off the game in pugilistic style.

The NHL usually stays away from marketing fighting for obvious reasons. However, it is a part of the game and should be allowed to continue. The instigator rule is also very controversial, but it is in place for a reason. More often than not it is applied incorrectly by referees, but Pierre-Luc Letorneau-Leblond committed an obvious infraction on Saturday evening.

Capitals enforcer DJ King will most likely be dressed in the next matchup between the two teams. Hopefully, if Leblond is still on the roster and in the lineup, a King vs. Leblond matchup will be the final point if it must happen. In fact, the suspension and fine should be enough for this ridiculous act.