2013 Fight Club: Reliving the top fights of the last ten years

It took the owners and players plenty of time to come to agreement, but the puck finally dropped for the 2012-13 season in January of 2013 and as you’ll see below the Penguins team in January was far different from the team at the end of the season. Lots of characters entered the room but the Penguins would ultimately fall short in the Eastern Conference Finals against Boston.

Once again the Penguins weren’t a team to back down from fights, but they only finished middle of the pack with 22 fights in the regular season. There were three more in the post season highlighted by a certain someone who liked to fight when the clock hit zeroes. Who could it be? Find out below.

Fighting may be steadily disappearing from today’s game, but it’s still one of the most unique and influential aspects of hockey. Just ask Max Talbot (circa 2009) if fights actually make a difference in a game. Fighting may not be common these days, but they still exist for a reason.

2010-11 Recap
2011-12 Recap

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1/20/13 - Tanner Glass vs Arron Asham

The first fight of the year featured a favorite from these first two recaps, but this time he was on the other end of the spectrum as Arron Asham and Tanner Glass threw down in the second game of the year with Asham now playing with the Rangers.

It was quite a donnybrook to kick the year off as the two hammered away at each other for over a minute before tiring out and going on their way. It was the first fight of the season for Pittsburgh and was one of the highest ranked fights with a 7.24 rating. Glass was also named the winner with 31% of the vote to Asham’s 18% with exactly half the votes coming in as a draw. Quite a way to begin this recap and that shortened season.

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1/23/13 - Deryk Engelland vs Colton Orr

This fight was a long time coming and predictable as these two heavyweights have danced many times throughout their careers with both sides coming out as victors. This particular fight may have been their best work and 41% of votes went for Orr with Engo only getting 27%. The fight was the second highest rated fight in the NHL that season with a whopping 8.59 average rating out of nearly 600 votes.

This one is the clear favorite for favorite fight in the poll below, even if Engelland wasn’t the obvious winner.

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2/20/13 - Tanner Glass vs Wayne Simmonds

Say what you want about Tanner Glass during his time with the Penguins, but he was someone who could more than hold his own in a scrap. In 2013, Glass took down some major enemies in fights that have been nuisances for the Penguins for the last decade.

Here Glass gives Simmonds the business for once and was prime to inflict more damage in the end but held off before the refs got in the middle of the two. Simmonds was someone who torched the Penguins in the score sheet and with his fists and physical play. It was certainly refreshing to see Glass get the better of Simmonds in this one.

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2/5/13 - Tanner Glass vs Matt Martin

Just like Wayne Simmonds, Matt Martin has been one of the biggest enemies against the Penguins for the Islanders for quite a while now. I’m not sure what predated this fight, but the announcers mention some bad blood and Sidney Crosby is seen leaving the ice at the end of this clip, so something was brewing before Martin and Glass went at it which isn’t a rare occurrence between these two teams that time.

I’m not sure if Martin was unaware that Glass was a southpaw, because Glass stung Martin on his first punch and Martin never did fully recover. Glass continues to land some massive left fists before Glass’s jersey ends up over his head and the refs immediately step in and end it then and there. Glass came away with a rare clear cut victory over Martin in this one.

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4/20/13 - Tanner Glass vs Adam McQuaid

In his last fight featured today, Glass did quite an impressive job against someone with a clear height advantage. Again, McQuaid may not have been expecting Glass to come at him with such vicious lefts before Glass switches to rights and Glass wails away knocking McQuaid to the ice with some heavy head shots.

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2/9/13 - Deryk Engelland vs Krys Barch

Deryk Engellend was throwing his weight all over the ice before Krys Barch comes flying off the bench and immediately challenges Engo. These two know how to fight and seemingly never have any quit in them. This one was another example of that.

The two immediately start throwing hands like they did in the old days without any regard for their own well being. Engo lands a quick ten shots before Barch gains a slight advantage and the two continue to duke it out longer than any human ever should and finally tire each other out and sit for their well-earned five minutes.

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3/4/13 - Deryk Engelland vs Pierre-Cedric Labrie

Engelland and Labrie meet in the corner early in a this contest and game recognizes game so the two tough guys immediately drop the gloves without hesitation. Both guys connect with some heavy shots after ripping each others helmets off with Engo landing slightly more from the looks of it.

However, Engelland found himself in an unfamiliar position as he gets spun around and lands on the ice in a vulnerable position, but fortunately for Engelland, Labrie is a respectful fighter and holds back from throwing any cheap shots. Always nice to see two players who have respect for each other despite bare-fist fighting.

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4/11/13 - Douglas Murray vs B.J. Crombeen

Late in a game the Penguins were clearly going to win, Crombeen was looking to exact a pound of flesh and Murray was looking to make a name for himself to his teammates and new fan base in Pittsburgh.

Murray was known as a tough guy and he showed that reputation served him well by landing some heavy shots and gets the clear advantage in this one. Murray wasn’t around for long but he left a lasting image and this is a prime example of why he was beloved in his short stint in Pittsburgh.

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4/17/13 - Brenden Morrow vs P.K. Subban

Another one of the recognizable names acquired by Ray Shero that trade deadline also wanted to make a name for himself in Pittsburgh. Scrapping with P.K. Subban will endear any player to any fan base, and Morrow found himself in that exact situation.

Morrow and Subban battle behind the net and continue their disagreement as the play continues in the other direction. Subban wasn’t quite sure what his plan was as he looked like he was going to a quick punch and immediately go down, but Morrow was having none of that and the referees weren’t too interested in stopping this one either.

It wasn’t the greatest fight but Morrow had the advantage and 61% of the vote claimed Morrow the winner in this contest. It’s always nice to see Subban lose his mind like he did in this instance.

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5/7/13 - Evgeni Malkin vs Travis Hamonic

The Islanders and Penguins rivalry was steadily reaching a boiling point and in 2013 the two teams met in the playoffs. Travis Hamonic was tasked with stopping Evgeni Malkin and as the final buzzer rang out on Long Island, the Penguins were looking for blood and Malkin and Hamonic found themselves in a battle that eventually led to a fight.

Hamonic throws a haymaker right off the bat that would have been devastating had it fully connected but fortunately for Malkin he came out of that unscathed before both sides eventually form a crowd and Hamonic disappears into a sea of blue while Malkin continues to land uppercuts.

This also wasn’t the prettiest fight in the world but it was all the life the Islanders had left as they dropped the next game 4-0 in Pittsburgh before falling in six games in overtime back on Islanders home ice.

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6/1/13 - Evgeni Malkin vs Patrice Bergeron

This was an unlikely pair to fight, but once again Evgeni Malkin found himself in a battle after the clock hit zero. Patrice Bergeron was probably the least likeliest Bruin player to fight in this game but he wasted no time dropping them once he and Malkin met at center ice.

Bergeron quickly got on the wrong side of Malkin and wanted nothing more to do with the fight and dropped to the ground while Malkin lands on top of him and continues to throw away.

Unfortunately for the Penguins, this was about the last good moment of that season as they eventually dropped this game and the next three to completely flame out as the Bruins went on to lose to Chicago in the Stanley Cup Final that year.