There’s always a lot of debate about fighting in the NHL, with more and more leagues around the league stepping away from it.
Although there aren’t as many fights today as there were years ago, it’s still a crucial part of hockey, and this video absolutely proves it.
When the Calgary Flames played the New Jersey Devils in early November, Devils’ Nathan Bastian took exception to a hit on his teammate Paul Cotter and dropped the gloves with Flames forward Ryan Lomberg.
Cotter had already been hit by Brayden Pachal, and as he fell to the ice, Lomberg hit him and landed on top of him, leading to a challenge from Bastian.
Ryan Lomberg’s great fight
Lomberg landed several punches during the tilt, and Bastian didn’t return to the game after suffering a jaw injury. Days after the game, it was announced that Bastian would miss ’several weeks’ due to the jaw injury. But Lomberg praised him for sticking up for one of his teammates after the game.
“I think he thought that the initial hit was dirty,” Lomberg said. “You know, you got to respect a guy for standing up for his teammate. Obviously, pretty tough guy hanging in there, too. Credit to him.”
Teammates’ great reaction
This weekend, the Flames released a new episode of ’The Chase,’ giving fans an inside look at what’s happening in the team and in the locker room during games. The latest episode featured scenes from the game where Lomberg fought Bastian—and it was just incredible seeing his teammates’ reactions to the tilt when they entered the locker room during intermission.
When Tyson Barrie walked into the locker room, he immediately said, ’Where is that f—king animal!?’ before giving Lomberg a fist-bump. Kevin Bahl said, ’I didn’t know you had that in you,’ making his teammates laugh. It was amazing seeing how happy the team was for the fight, proving just what fighting can do for team spirits.
