The art of fighting is being progressively weaned out of the NHL these days. But every once in a while, a bout comes along that reminds you of its importance in the sport of hockey.
On Wednesday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets at Scotiabank Arena.
Early on in the game, barely two full minutes into the first period, two heavyweights in the sport collided as Columbus’ Mathieu Olivier squared off against Toronto’s Ryan Reaves.
Olivier has only been playing in the NHL since the 2019-20 season, but developed a reputation for scrapping at the major-junior level and in the minor leagues.
Reaves, on the other hand, has been known as one of the top fighters in the league for the past decade.
The pair exchanged a series of blows – with Olivier appearing to connect with Reaves much more than the other way around. At the end, officials broke the fracas up and it appeared that Reaves even gave Olivier a tap on the chest to indicate a job well done.
Mathieu Olivier of the Columbus Blue Jackets (L) fights Ryan Reaves of the Toronto Maple Leafs (R) during the first period of a game held in Toronto on Wednesday evening
The fight happened early on in the game – barely even two full minutes into the first period
Columbus’ Adam Fantilli scored his first NHL hat trick in a 5-1 beat down of his hometown Leafs
Sadly, the broadcast audio of the audience didn’t seem like they were nearly as excited about the fight as those throwing the punches themselves, which has become common among the Scotiabank crowd these days.
Per the site HockeyFights.com – which tracks fighting in the NHL, AHL, and Canadian major-junior levels throughout the years – this was Reaves’ first fight of the season and Olivier’s tenth.
Those who voted on the site rated the bout a 7.79 out of 10 – with a 47 percent majority of the 191 voters siding with Olivier as the winner of the fight at the time of publishing.
Columbus got the spark they needed from the fight – upsetting the Maple Leafs and winning 5-1.
Adam Fantilli, the Blue Jackets’ top pick in the 2023 NHL Draft (3rd overall) scored his first NHL hat-trick. The native of Nobleton, Ontario (just north of Toronto) was able to do so in his own backyard in front of his parents.
Columbus also saw goals by fellow Greater Toronto Area native Luca Del Bel Belluz and former Maple Leafs star James van Riemsdyk. Toronto’s lone goal came from captain Auston Matthews.
In just 168 games in the show, Olivier has racked up 13 goals, 34 points and a whopping 239 penalty minutes. Reaves is much more seasoned – having played in 877 games. He’s accumulated 63 goals and 135 points along with an astounding 1,072 penalty minutes.
Toronto currently leads the Atlantic Division with 62 points through 49 games. Columbus is fourth in the Metropolitan Division with 53 points through 48 games and currently sit in the top Wild Card spot with 34 games remaining in their season.
