For the first time in nearly six years, a goalie fight broke out during an NHL game as the San Jose Sharks faced the Florida Panthers on Monday.
A scrum developed in the corner to the right of the net of San Jose’s Alex Nedeljkovic. He charged from his goal crease and began raining punches down on Florida center Evan Rodrigues.
From nearly 200 feet away, Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky decided to answer the call. He raced the length of the ice, engaging Nedeljkovic. The two netminders squared off, dropped the gloves, pulled off each other’s mask and began chucking knuckles at a furious pace.
That’s one of the delights of a goalie fight. Defense never enters into the equation.
“It didn’t matter who it was that would’ve gotten hit, I would’ve gone in for him,” Nedeljkovic told the Sharks broadcast team in a post-game interview. “I didn’t really expect the consequences of doing it, to be honest with you.
“I got a little surprised when he came down, but I would do it all over again.”
Oddly enough, the two goalies were the only ones to drop the gloves during the entire altercation.
The fight gives Nedeljkovic a career Gordie Howe hat-trick, a rarity for a netminder. He’d previously scored a goal and collected an assist as an NHL goaltender.
In case you were wondering, the Sharks beat the Panthers 4-1.
It was the second fight for Nedeljkovic as a pro goalie. While with the ECHL Florida Everblades in 2017, he fought Orlando Solar Bears goalie Ryan Massa.
The previous goalie fight in an NHL game was between Cam Talbot of the Calgary Flames and Mike Smith of the Edmonton Oilers on February 1, 2020.