Sports Empty Netters Fighting fowls - 11-16-10
|
The Penguins, hockey and more, by the PG's Seth Rorabaugh. |
Archives
- December, 2010 (125)
- November, 2010 (112)
- October, 2010 (122)
- September, 2010 (103)
- August, 2010 (51)
- July, 2010 (156)
- June, 2010 (379)
- May, 2010 (363)
- April, 2010 (606)
- March, 2010 (737)
- February, 2010 (721)
- January, 2010 (740)
- December, 2009 (762)
- November, 2009 (739)
- October, 2009 (760)
- September, 2009 (731)
- August, 2009 (537)
- July, 2009 (563)
- June, 2009 (517)
- May, 2009 (622)
- April, 2009 (606)
- March, 2009 (658)
- February, 2009 (604)
- January, 2009 (489)
- December, 2008 (293)
- November, 2008 (239)
- October, 2008 (264)
- September, 2008 (204)
- August, 2008 (162)
- July, 2008 (230)
- June, 2008 (92)
- May, 2008 (93)
- April, 2008 (5)
- January, 2008 (3)
- September, 2007 (1)
(That's the lamest pun of a headline ever. Sorry.)
It's probably safe to say the Penguins' season hasn't exactly gone as scripted. They likely didn't expect Marc-Andre Fleury to be benched for much of October. They probably didn't expect Jordan Staal to suffer some hard luck injuries. And it's doubtful they anticipated Flyers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to be the career leader in wins at Consol Energy Center after one month.
And even they probably didn't expect to be the league leader in fights after a month and a half of play.
But that's exactly what they are. Through last night's game, they pace the NHL with 21 fighting majors.
The Pittsburgh Penguins. The same team of Pronovost, Lemieux, Jagr and Crosby. More fights than the rough and tumbles likes of the Flyers, Maple Leafs, Bruins and every other team.
No. Really.
That's not to say the Penguins weren't expected to be tough. They have some established punchy elements already on the rosters with Mike Rupp and Maxime Talbot. Then they added someone like Arron Asham who will drop the gloves with anyone this past offseason. Additionally, Deryk Engelland, who views fighting as vital to his survival as an NHL regular, made the roster out of training camp.
The amazing thing about the Penguins' 21 fighting majors is how they have spread the wealth. Not only do they lead the league in total fighting majors. They also lead the league in different players involved in fights.
Mike Comrie (above, with New York's Ryan Callahan), owner of hands which produced two 30-goal seasons, has just as many fights as Eric Godard, owners of hands which once dropped the mighty Derek Boogaard.
Here are the top five times in terms of different players invovled in fights. All stats from Hockey Fights.
| Team | Total Fights | Players Involved In Fights |
Players Number of Fights |
| Penguins | 21 | 12 | Derek Engelland (5) Mike Rupp (3) Mike Comrie (2) Eric Godard (2) Craig Adams (1) Arron Asham (1) Matt Cooke (1) Sidney Crosby (1) Tyler Kennedy (1) Chris Kunitz (1) Kris Letang (1) Maxime Talbot (1) |
| Blues | 20 | 11 | B.J. Crombeen (6) Brad Winchester (4) David Backes (2) Eric Brewer (1) Cam Janssen (1) Erik Johnson (1) Nathan Oystrick (1) Alex Pietrangelo (1) Ryan Reaves (1) Vladimir Sobotka (1) Tyson Strachan (1) |
| Avalanche | 14 | 10 | Cody McLeod (5) Matt Duchene (1) Philippe Dupuis (1) Adam Foote (1) David Liffiton (1) John-Michael Liles (1) Ryan O’Byrne (1) Chris Stewart (1) Ryan Wilson (1) Brandon Yip (1) |
| Bruins | 18 | 10 | Gregory Campbell (3) Adam McQuaid (3) Mark Stuart (3) Milan Lucic (2) Shawn Thornton (2) Zdeno Chara (1) Andrew Ference (1) Nathan Horton (1) Mark Recchi (1) Dennis Seidenberg (1) |
| Oilers | 17 | 10 | Zach Stortini (4) Steve MacIntyre (3) Colin Fraser (2) Theo Peckham (2) Gilbert Brule (1) Sam Gagner (1) Ryan Jones (1) Ladislav Smid (1) Jason Strudwick (1) Ryan Whitney (1) |
(Photo: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
Subscribe to this comment's feed
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|