Brandon Duhaime stepped up to the plate on behalf of teammate Ryan Leonard on Monday night.
Duhaime dropped the gloves with Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba at the 13:23 mark of the first period. The bout came in response to Trouba’s controversial hit that injured the rookie Leonard early last month, taking him out of the Washington Capitals’ lineup for seven games.
While the thought was there from Duhaime, he had a tough time making much contact with Trouba, being the much smaller of the two combatants.
The fight was Duhaime’s fourth of the season and his first since December 2, when he went toe-to-toe with Los Angeles Kings defenseman Joel Edmundson. Trouba, who declined a fight with Tom Wilson during the December 5 game, had not fought since last March against St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn.
“That was a huge fight from Dewey there, getting us some momentum, sticking up for Leno,” Sourdif told Monumental Sports Network’s Al Koken. “Props to Trouba, I guess, for answering the bell, and great on Dewey for getting the boys going and avenging Leno there.”
Dylan McIlrath, who suited up in a game for the sixth time this season, later fought Ducks tough guy Ross Johnston early in the second period and won his bout decisively.
While Duhaime’s attempt at justice did little to punish Trouba physically, the 28-year-old winger did seem to spark and wake his team up in the period. The Capitals were down 1-0 at the time of the fight, and the ice was tilted in Anaheim’s favor. After the bout, the Caps turned the tide and eventually went into the first intermission up 2-1 after two goals from Justin Sourdif.
When the team returned to the ice for the second period, Leonard got the ultimate revenge, scoring his ninth goal of the season and putting the Capitals up 3-1.