Early Thanks to Carcillo and Dorsett

On Thanksgiving Eve here in the States we were treated to a big night of games and a lot of action.

A highlight I must point to first is the fight of the year candidate between Daniel Carcillo and Derek Dorsett.  The two exchanged words during the pre-game skate and got a chance to settle things about fives minutes into the first period.  What ensued will be on highlight reels for a long time.

The Rangers and Lightning played a hard-fought game that ended in a shootout win for the Blueshirts.  There were two scraps in this one: Steven Stamkos and Nikolai Zherdev met up in the first period in an unexpected and decent one.  It was the first fight for either player.  Mid-way through the game Colton Orr took on David Koci in another one of the night’s entertaining bouts.

Josh Gratton doesn’t bore while earning his five minutes and that trend continued last night when he took on Wade Brookbank.  These two had a spirited exchange to start the Flyers-Canes game with a lot of energy in the building.

In other action: a pair of giants dropped the gloves, just not with each other.  Eric Godard took on Mitch Fritz on Long Island; and Krys Barch challenged Derek Boogaard in Minnesota.

Leafs prep for Burke

Brian Burke hasn’t even signed on to be the GM of the Maple Leafs and it seems there’s already a movement to play more like a Burke-built team.  Dominic Moore and Jeff Finger got into a scuffle during practice:

Finger caught Moore with a hard cross-check in the corner before the two exchanged a couple punches. Teammates were quick to get between the players and calm things down.

The team has also recalled Andre Deveaux for tonight’s game against the Senators.

McCarty bounces

Darren McCarty was sent down to Detroit‘s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins for one game, and was recalled immediately after the Red Wings’ game against Montreal last night.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to the American audience.  There are only two games tonight, with all four teams being Canada-based.  If there’s any action from these games, there might be a little delay (just Friday) before posting anything due to me attempting to enjoy the holiday, family and a tiny bit of downtime.

Videos added

Shawn Thornton vs Andrew Peters Nov 26, 2008
Krys Barch vs Derek Boogaard Nov 26, 2008
Colton Orr vs David Koci Nov 26, 2008
Nikolai Zherdev vs Steven Stamkos Nov 26, 2008
Daniel Carcillo vs Derek Dorsett Nov 26, 2008
Josh Gratton vs Wade Brookbank Nov 26, 2008
Eric Godard vs Mitch Fritz Nov 26, 2008

Some reads

Tampa Bay Lightning’s Tocchet says get tougher or get out | Tocchet issues a warning
Hearing impairment doesn’t stop OHL player
Minnesota Wild fall victim to the seemy side of netminding
2 Fights Show Off Bolts’ Grit, Tenacity