Pittsburgh Penguins: Why the Brent Johnson Goalie Fight Is Great for the NHL

Ever since the NHL lockout in 2004, the NHL has been slowly working its way back into the national spotlight.

On Wednesday night, a fight broke out between Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Brent Johnson and New York Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro.

Goalie fights used to be very common in the golden days of hockey but not recently.

A good goalie fight has not occurred since Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche and Chris Osgood of the Detroit Red Wings fought every time they played each other it seemed.

Some people (crazy people) think fighting is bad for the game. I disagree. I think fighting is a part of the game and it is vital for getting the game back to the national spotlight.

Whether people want to admit it or not, Americans want to see violence and excitement in sporting events. Outside of the die hard hockey fans, regular Americans who attend hockey games do not appreciate the subtle nuances of hockey.

Regular Americans want to drink beer, eat nachos and watch the checking and fighting. By the way, there is nothing wrong with that; I enjoy a cold beverage or two while I attend sporting events.

The point is that those Americans are who the NHL needs to focus on. Hockey may be a Canadian sport but the majority of the NHL is in America.

The NHL needs all the publicity it can get and the Brent Johnson fight did just that.

Not only is it a YouTube sensation, but it even got play on NBC's Today Show. The Today Show barely talks about any sport as it is, let alone hockey.

I enjoyed the fight because I am a Pens fan and I enjoyed watching Johnson pitch a shutout and then go KO DiPietro in one punch. It sent a strong message that even without Sidney Crosby and Geno Malkin, the Pens are not backing down from anyone.

However, I also enjoyed it because it is exactly what hockey needs. No more dirty hits, just good clean fights.

You can argue that hockey fights are stupid and that's fair. However, you cannot argue that hockey fights, especially goalie fights, do not bring needed excitement to the NHL.