Zack Ostapchuk and Nicolas Hague dropped the mitts early tonight in Nashville, and the Sharks forward didn't wait long to set the tone.
Gino Hard called it a scrap worth seeing, and the broadcast graphic shows it came with 17:09 left in the first period.
The frame shows Ostapchuk, No. 63, and the Predators defenseman locked up near center ice, each grabbing a handful of the other's sweater.
Love it. Two teams on losing streaks, barely three minutes in, and somebody decided to wake the building up.
It's like a morning meeting where somebody slams the table before the coffee is even poured.
Ostapchuk came in without a point but with a +1 rating on a $2,350,000 cap hit.
Hague, on a $5,500,000 deal, has one assist this season, a shorthanded one.
You can see the full fight here !
Zack Ostapchuk takes on Nicolas Hague in heated early-game showdown
San Jose came in at 3-3-0 after a 6-3 home loss to Boston.
Macklin Celebrini has 8 points in just four games.
Will Smith has a power-play goal and a shorthanded goal, but he sits at -5.
Darnell Nurse is listed day-to-day with an undisclosed issue, days after his low-IQ comeback aimed at Mark Spector made the rounds.
Nashville came in at 2-2-2 after a 5-2 loss to Vegas.
Steven Stamkos leads the Predators with 7 points, and Roman Josi has 6.
Filip Forsberg has 5 assists but is still looking for his first goal.
Jayden Struble, acquired from Montreal earlier this month, is still looking for his first point in Nashville.
Juuse Saros sits at .897, while Yaroslav Askarov is at .848 for San Jose.
Ryan Warsofsky and Andrew Brunette both needed some life from their groups, and they got it early.
Does the scrap give either bench the spark it was looking for, or does it fizzle by the second period?
San Jose visits Detroit on Saturday, while Nashville hosts St. Louis the same night.
These teams meet again Nov. 15 in San Jose. Ostapchuk just gave everybody a reason to circle that date.
Did Zack Ostapchuk win his scrap with Nicolas Hague?
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