The Detroit Red Wings were leading the Minnesota Wild 1-0 when Wild rookie defenseman Nick Seeler thought the team could use a spark. He chose a tough competitor, Luke Witkowski, and made the challenge. Immediately after, the rookie and the experienced fighter dropped the gloves and the bout began.
The two players must have combined for 30 punches during a 10-15 second span. These weren’t just soft blows either, many of them were haymakers which made direct contact with their opponents face.
Zach Parise, who at the last second avoided a potentially big hit from Witkowski, was thankful for the rookie stepping up. He also had a front row seat to the fight and commented after the game how nasty the fight sounded.
It definitely had an old-school feel to it, and the result was exactly what was intended. The Wild turned their game around and within the next few minutes of play had taken the lead. A power-play goal by Eric Staal and follow up by Zach Parise would be all the Wild would need to defeat the Red Wings. However, Jason Zucker would add two more tallies in the third period to officially seal the deal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAzlNaMCfMA
