Gino Hard says Gabriel Landeskog and Moritz Seider dropped the gloves Saturday night as the Avalanche beat the Red Wings 4-0.
Nobody was circling this matchup. Landeskog is a 33-year-old winger who has played 816 NHL games, and Seider is a 25-year-old defenseman whose game is built on gap control and minutes, not on the knuckles.
Hard put it bluntly in his post, and the message was short.
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The box score gives us the numbers around it, nothing more. Landeskog finished with 7 penalty minutes on the night, Seider with 9, and neither one touched the scoresheet otherwise.
That is a lot of box time for two guys who usually live elsewhere. Seider played 19:26 and never got a shot on goal, while Landeskog logged 12:41 with one.
Seider came in with 10 assists on the season, which says plenty about how he normally helps his team. Throwing punches in a 4-0 game was not in the plan, and it did not move the scoreboard.
Why this fight matters for Detroit
Because the Red Wings are sliding. They have lost three straight and sit 22nd in the NHL at 7-8-3, with a goal differential of -7.
When a team gets handled like that, the frustration has to go somewhere. It is the same locker room that one columnist said felt lighter without Dylan Larkin, and a top-pair defenseman losing his temper is not the sort of thing that makes a room feel lighter.
Colorado is a different story. The Avalanche are 10-6-2, third in the Central, and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped all 27 shots he faced. Landeskog going toe to toe fits a team that is rolling at home with a 7-1-2 record.
I'll say it plainly: Detroit has no business trading punches while Daniil Tarasov is allowing four goals on 29 shots. Seider's 15 penalty minutes this season are the most he has had in a while, and that is a number a coach notices.
Both teams are back in action Tuesday. Colorado visits Toronto, and Detroit goes to St. Louis looking to end the skid.
Quick hits
VANCOUVER CANUCKS: Brock Boeser pulled the Canucks within one late in Edmonton, but Vancouver still lost 4-2. That is five straight defeats, and a late goal is cold comfort.
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EDMONTON OILERS: Jason Gregor says Connor McDavid is up to 47 points in 18 games after the Oilers beat the Canucks. Silly numbers, again.
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LOS ANGELES KINGS: Alex Laferriere told Zach Dooley the Kings simply weren't ready for Pittsburgh on Saturday night. He put it squarely on the players, which is the right call.
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OTTAWA SENATORS: The Senators announced that Tim Stutzle moved into the top five for most assists in franchise history. Not bad for a guy still in his prime.
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NEW JERSEY DEVILS: Jack Hughes won it in overtime, and the Devils beat the Islanders 5-4 on Long Island after trailing 4-2 at one point. Some comeback.
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Is Landeskog vs. Seider the most surprising fight of the season?
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