Laraque Makes a Statement
It’s a well-known fact that Georges Laraque doesn’t necessarily enjoy fighting. He does it because it’s his job.
It remains a stance doesn’t exactly mesh with some of fighting’s most ardent followers, and it also has become fuel for a certain group. Some fans feel that Laraque’s possible exit out of Montreal may be connected to his lack of fighting majors, regardless of his injury problems this season.
Laraque wants to remain with the Canadiens, and the reasoning behind the Habs signing him last summer was on display Saturday night, as Laraque delivered a thorough beatdown to Sharks heavyweight Jody Shelley. After the fight, Montreal went on to score three first period goals en route to a win.
If Laraque didn’t prove his value to the team through his efforts against Shelley, he may have improved his stock to those interested in potentially acquiring his services before Wednesday’s trade deadline.
Ott suspended after Moen fight
The rest of yesterday’s games produced eight other fights. Three of the games featured more than one fight, bringing this season’s total to 137 such contests. Six more instances will result in the breaking of last year’s mark and the continued pace of the highest total multi-fight games this decade.
One of those games was an afternoon battle between the Ducks and Stars. While time was expiring in the third and final period, Steve Ott delivered a series of cross-checks to the back of Scott Niedermayer. Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere took exception and gave Ott a jab with his stick. Travis Moen then grabbed Ott and swung away until Ott was able to push him off-balance and to the ice.
Sporting a broken hand, Ott didn’t provide much offense during the fight, and once things hit the ground, he apparently gouged one of Moen’s eyes. Ott has reportedly been suspended pending a review on Monday. After the game, Ott said that the gouge was accidental. Moen believes different:
Moen said he was upset by the incident.
“You don’t like it when a guy eye-gouges you after a fight,” he said. “You know, I guess he felt he had to eye-gouge me. I don’t know. Maybe it wasn’t intentional. Maybe he was just trying to get at me, and was pulling, and got my eye or whatever.”
Other notable bouts on Saturday included a rare Red Wings fight involving Andreas Lilja and Predator defenseman Shea Weber as well as Chris Stewart stepping up a weight class to take on Colton Orr in Avs–Rangers. Friday’s only bout saw Stephane Veilleux exchange blows with Curtis Glencross.
