Wade Belak gives Cam Janssen a warm welcome

So it did actually happen. Wade Belak challenged Cam Janssen in last nights Devils vs Leafs game.

Mere seconds after Janssen hopped over the boards Wade Belak began chirping at him and in short order the gloves were off and the two heavy weights went at it.

Belak got the upper hand early in the fight but never seemed to be able to capitalize on his dominant position. As fights go, this was not much of one, but the effect this fight had on both benches was positive. Both teams should now be able to put the late hit by Janssen on Tomas Kaberle behind them and go on to finish off their respective seasons.

Kudos to Belak for stepping up to the plate and handling himself well and even bigger kudos to Janssen for not turtling or running away from the fight. As expected the rest of the game was business as usual (althought the 3rd period did get a little chippy) and both teams focused on trying to get the two points.

Hockeyfights.com currently has the fight going to Wade Belak with 59.4% of the vote.

You can see the fight below:




For the most part I tend to think that fighting in hockey is useless and pointless. However, in this case it serves a purpose. It tells opposing teams that you will not let them get away with questionable actions without penalty and it serves to juice up your teammates and your fans. Oh, yeah, and it IS fun to watch.

Tyler over at NHL Digest is trying to win an Edmonton Oilers fan picture contest and plans to give away the prize (a Sirius satellite radio and 6 month subscription) to readers of his blog.