Jan 18, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes left wing Anthony Duclair (10) and right wing Shane Doan (19) and left wing Mikkel Boedker (89) fight with Buffalo Sabres defenseman Zach Bogosian (47), and left wing Marcus Foligno (82) and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (55) as NHL linesman Darren Gibbs (66) tries to break them up after the conc;usion of the game at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /
The Arizona Coyotes fought 21 times during last season. Some of them were wrestling matches, others weren’t very pretty, but some showed how tight the team really is.
Within the first twenty minutes of the 2015-2016 season, the Arizona Coyotes acquired a fighting major and within their last sixty minutes of the season, they sealed it off with another 5-minute major.
The Arizona Coyotes have always been a gritty, North-South team. Over the past 20 season, the Coyotes have fielded some pretty mean rosters.
During the early 2000’s, the then Phoenix Coyotes had a big brawler by the name of Georges Laraque. Years later, the Coyotes were led in fights by none other than the best fighter and twitter personality of the last ten years; Paul Bissonnette.
But last season featured a different level of fight.
That roster had the fighting Coyotes stalwarts of Kyle Chipchura and Shane Doan but also set of new faces. Max Domi and Anthony Duclair may be known for their goals, but they are some of the feistiest rookies around.
Moreover, they brought in outside help to tune up other teams with Brad Richardson and based-god, king of every All-Star game ever again John Scott.
So, as you could expect, Arizona racked up a number fighting majors. They added up to over 100 minutes and Howlin’ Hockey is reviewing every single brawl during our Fight Card Review for the 2015-2016 season.
First up happens to be a new guy who has some pretty slippery gloves because they came off pretty early.
Next: Brad Richardson vs. Anaheim's Fowler
Brad Richardson can throw down when he wants, and Opening Night in Anaheim was one of those days.
With less than 3 minutes remaining in the first period of the first game in a very long 82 game season, one of the last things you’d expect would be a fight. It’s early, save your energy for later in the season.
Then again, when you take a cheap shot on a divisional rival, it’s almost inviting a yard sale. And that’s what happened.
At 17:26 in the first against Anaheim in the season opener, Brad Richardson beat the snot out of somebody, and that someone was Cam Fowler.
Now Fowler didn’t leave bleeding or unconscious, but he didn’t land a shot or even find solid footing. Richardson whipped him around, took a few shots to Fowler’s beak and tossed him to the ice.
That’s the price you pay when you stand up for a teammate, so props to Cam Fowler. Maybe just leave Brad Richardson alone next time?
Next: Joe Vitale vs. Boston's Miller
How many of you remember Joe Vitale’s 2015-2016 campaign? No? Here’s why.
Joe Vitale signed a 3 year deal with the Arizona Coyotes after spending his first four NHL seasons in Pittsburgh. He played 70 games for Arizona in the 14-15 campaign yet only 1 game in all of last season.
There really isn’t much in this fight to enjoy if you’re a Coyotes fan. It was brutal for fans and even worse for Vitale.
It starts with a scrum in the corner after Oliver Ekman-Larsson upset Jimmy Hayes. Then Shane Doan mixed it up with a few Bruins players, smiling the whole time, and finally Vitale and Miller paired up.
Vitale landed an early shot, but it was the Miller show after that.
The NESN commentator says in the video, Kevan Miller used Joe Vitale’s face as a “punching bag”, and Vitale is still dealing with concussion related issues stemming from this brawl.
Next: Kyle Chipchura vs. New Jersey's Tootoo
Kyle Chipchura is a very gritty player. So is Jordin Tootoo. So you can imagine what happens when they line up next to each other on a draw.
This fight is one of the most straightforward brawls of the Arizona Coyotes’ 2015-2016 season.
Kyle Chipchura and Jordin Tootoo lined up on a center-ice face-off, flipped their mitts off and wrestled around for 20 seconds. Hockeyfights.com gave the decision to Tootoo for the handful of small punches he landed on Chipchura, but the fight for the most part came off as a straight draw.
Chippy did get a jersey pulled over this face, but Tootoo didn’t land any while Chipchura was blinded. Much like this game, this fight wasn’t much to get too excited about.
However, did you catch the best part of the clip? Yes, that’s right; 10 seconds of Tie Domi attempting to analyze a fight and knowing almost nothing about the fighters.
Next: Kyle Chipchura vs. Detroit's Smith
Anytime anybody plays a team like Boston, Philadelphia or Detroit, there is a good shot the gloves will come of. December 3rd was no different.
The Arizona Coyotes have a long history of losing when they play the Detroit Red Wings.
The Wings taunted the Coyotes for years during the mid-00’s during the first rounds of the playoffs and they struggle to match Detroit’s intensity on the puck every time they play. This matchup was no different.
The Coyotes were having another tough game during a rough December.
The fight card from hockeyfights.com says that Kyle Chipchura got his face wiped up with the ice by a nearly 50% vote, but this fight was much closer than the Red Wings fans who voted on this fight give Chipchura credit for.
Chippy landed a half dozen shots to Brendan Smith‘s ribs and a few more to his head. Moreover, Chip whipped that dude around like a rag doll. It was all Smith could do to stay on his feet.
Now Smith did land some good shots and got the final takedown, but he whiffed big on the payoff shot and Chipchura whacked him right back after taking that swing and a miss.
That fight was much closer than Original-Sixers wanted you to believe.
Next: John Scott vs. Columbus's Boll
John Scott was the hero the Arizona Coyotes needed, but not the hero they deserved.
It was a late night in Glendale and the Arizona Coyotes were squaring off against the very, very bad Columbus Blue Jackets. Boyd Gordon was net front after a rush from Arizona and then things got a little testy. The lines came together and a hero stood above them all.
John Scott waded into the mess and soon found himself surrounded by 3 Blue Jackets. So what did our great hero do? Challenged them all.
Only one stood up to Scott, and that was Jared Boll. And boy, Boll was not worthy.
Your boy John Scott stood in there while Boll flailed around trying to fight a giant. Only when Scott was assured he wouldn’t get tagged by the referee with an extra instigator minor did he get dancing with Boll.
Now Johnny Boy didn’t light up Boll or even win by domination, but he stood in there while Boll took some good shots and followed them up with a few good returns.
The fight decision went to John Scott, but Scott’s best work last season was his inspirational All-Star Game MVP performance and when took on Patrick Kane after Kane scored a goal.
It wasn’t a real brawl, but it was his best all season.
Next: Max Domi vs. Toronto's Holland
There would be no team more appropriate for Max Domi’s first fight and first goal than the Toronto Maple Leafs. So Max made it happen.
On October 26th, Max Domi potted his first goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Two months later on December 22nd, Max Domi got his first fighting major.
Against who? Toronto, the team his family is synonymous with.
Now this fight was quick.
Peter Holland stepped into Domi’s path, dropped his mitts and Max Domi danced with him. Both landed a punch or two and Domi lost his footing. But after they were down, Holland just laid there in the typical post fight relaxation form, Domi flipped over and tried to get it going again.
Max Domi wanted to fight. He didn’t wanna stop. He is a pent up ball of anger. Who else is a pent up ball of anger and is really, really good at fighting?
His pops.
Don’t cross the Domi’s. Chances are, you won’t come out with a clean face and a full mouth of teeth.
Next: Kyle Chipchura vs. Los Angeles's Forbort
Blindsided hits almost always lead to scuffles in hockey and when Kyle Chipchura levels somebody, there is typically a fight to follow.
Derek Forbort isn’t an NHL mainstay. In fact he has only played a total of 14 career NHL games.
Yet when he saw fellow Kings teammate Marian Gaborik take a cheap shot to the knee by Arizona Coyotes forward Kyle Chipchura, Forbort had no problem stepping up.
This fight was a snoozer for sure; nothing really happened other than both players hitting the ground after they lost their balance in what was essentially a wrestling match.
But Forbort showed valor for a team that he hadn’t been skating with for very long. While this scuffle doesn’t mean much to a Coyotes fan, Kings fans should certainly take note.
Their former 1st round pick isn’t about to let anyone run over their scoring talent, no matter how imposing.
Next: Steve Downie vs. Colorado's Martinsen
Steve Downie loves to upset people but what happens when someone upsets Steve Downie? Pretty much the same thing.
Andreas Martinsen was a pretty brave guy on December 27th of last season because he decided to take a run at experienced fighter and pest Steve Downie.
Martins ran Downie and when Downie got up, he tried to fight him. So Steve Downie did what Steve Downie does and obliged Martinsen. And while Downie didn’t win this fight by any stretch of the imagination, he did the best he could given the circumstances.
You see, Steve Downie is only 5 foot, 11 inches. His opponent was four inches taller and thirty pounds heavier.
Downie got manhandled. Of course he took a lot of punches. But the ones he sent back were pretty convincing too.
Next: Brad Richardson vs. New Jersey's Zajac
After this fight, you’d swear Brad Richardson’s role as an NHL player was an enforcer, not a solid bottom-six centerman.
It started rather simply.
Off the face-off, centers Travis Zajac and Brad Richardson opted to have a dance late in the second period of a mid-January game in the desert. Zajac got the best of Richardson early on and it looked like this one would get wrapped up pretty soon except for one thing.
Richardson stood in that fight until Zajac thought he had him beat, then let Zajac have it. He beat Zajac briskly about the head and shoulders more than a dozen hits in what many would call a late-round rout.
By the end of the matchup, Zajac was trying to fall on the ice just so it could be over and it took two linesmen to get Richardson to let up.
When you look back at some of the things we learned about the Arizona Coyotes last season, you could answer that we learned that the youth is promising, the goaltending is shaky on a good day, and that Brad Richardson can throw em’ from downtown.
Next: Anthony Duclair vs. Buffalo's Bogosian
There’s no joking about this fight. The referees and linemen let Anthony Duclair and company get the snot beat out of them for no good reason.
The game was over and there was no reason to mix anything else up.
The Arizona Coyotes magic was beginning to fall out from under them as rookie goaltender Louis Domingue could only carry his club so far.
But Buffalo wanted to mix it up and I guess that’s fine.
But what wasn’t fine was letting the teams mix it up after the horn had sounded and after a linesman had hauled away Antoine Vermette, leaving the Coyotes down a man during a line brawl.
The outcome? All four Coyotes wrestling and fighting for their lives while five Sabres had their way with them.
Anthony Duclair had his face beaten up a little. Shane Doan had to wrestle off two Sabres to save Duclair. Then Duclair and Doan together had to go 3 vs. 5 to save Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
This was an all around mess, and those officials needed to be reprimanded for leaving Arizona intentionally undermanned during a line brawl.
Next: Jarred Tinordi vs. Winnipeg's Peluso
Jarred Tinordi pretty much got his kisser rearranged for him, but he gets a C- for trying.
Jarred Tinordi is a pretty big guy, with long arms and is a reasonably strong NHL defensemen. But for some reason, despite all of that, he’s not a fantastic fighter.
Early on in the first period of a game agains the Winnipeg Jets, Tinordi was helping clear the net after a Winnipeg scoring attempt when he offended Peluso with a slightly overaggressive push.
So the two dropped their mitts like they were filled with cement and had at it, or at least Peluso did.
Peluso landed over thirty jabs to Tinordi’s head and shoulders. Thankfully Peluso didn’t have the flexibility to land a shot on Tinordi’s knees or toes but if he did, those shots would have landed too.
And if you were counting hits like I was, I only tabbed one decent Tinordi jab, which is pretty sad considering who the Arizona Coyotes traded him for.
With that shameful drubbing of Jarred Tinordi, we reach the halfway point in the Arizona Coyotes 2015-16 fight card.
Look out next week for the second part as we see Anthony Duclair and Max Domi mix it up again, showing how versatile the Coyotes youth movement really is.
