Add another Detroit Red Wings fight to the tally this season. In a bout last night between the Nashville Predators Yannick Weber and Dylan Larkin, the Red Wings became a fight-per-game team. With five fights in five games, the Red Wings currently lead the NHL in fighting majors. No, this is not a joke. The Detroit Red Wings currently lead the NHL in fighting majors.
Detroit Red Wings Fight Their Way To The Top
For a long time, the Red Wings have been a small team that attacks their opponents with their speed and skill rather than their fists. And now…. Well, not much has changed from recent years so it’s puzzling why the Red Wings are fighting so much. Could it be the grit of Justin Abdelkader rubbing off on his teammates? Or the intangibles that Steve Ott is bringing to the room?
Whatever it is, it caused Larkin, Detroit’s 20-year-old speedster, to drop the gloves last night. Larkin’s never been in a fight ever, let alone in his professional career. But he did quite well for himself, landing a couple solid rights and then taking Weber to the ice. Ask any Wings fan and they’ll tell you Larkin “won” that fight.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/789642997587582976
Jonathan Ericsson Leads Team To The Box
The team and league leader in fighting majors for this season is Jonathan Ericsson. Ericsson seems to have come out the gates this season with a fire lit under him. He fought Ondrej Palat in the first game of the season, earning him an instigator penalty and a game misconduct. He aslo fought Dion Phaneuf in the third game of the season.
Ericsson has been subject to much scrutiny over the last couple of seasons due to poor play as well as an expensive contract. Both his offensive and defensive stats have been abysmal. Ericsson acknowledged that he hears the criticism in the off-season and admitted to having a hip impingement that he’s played through. Perhaps Ericsson’s new role on the team is to rile the players up and try to swing the momentum. That is just what the Red Wings need – more grit.
Will History Repeat Itself?
The last time the Red Wings opened their season with five fighting majors in five games was in 1996-97. That season, the Red Wings had a total of 55 fighting majors. Jamie Pushor led the team with 12 fighting majors and Darren McCarty was a close second with ten.
You know what else happened that year? The Red Wings won the Cup. It would be unwise to draw any conclusions from this parallel, but we’re all hockey fans and it’s hard to ignore the pattern that’s unfolding here.
Another Red Wings Fight Tonight?
In the second of back-to-back games, the Red Wings host the San Jose Sharks tonight at Joe Louis Arena. Will we see another Red Wings fight? The 1996-97 team had eleven fighting majors in their first ten games. This year’s team of small, speedy skaters will have to reach deep down and channel the spirit of Joe Louis if they want to make history in that arena one more time.
*All fighting stats from hockeyfights.com
Main Photo:
