Almost 100 percent of the time, or, better yet, 99.9 percent of the time, fights happen at some point during the game. But for the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens? They couldn't even wait for the puck to drop during a pivotal playoff game all the way back in 1987.
And yeah, you read that right: An incident before the puck even dropped caused one of the most notorious moments in the history of the Flyers and Canadiens franchises.
Now, with the NHL's 110th season not far off in the distance, a lot of wild and wacky things have happened to most of the league's 32 teams, and I say 'most' because Vegas and Seattle were late to dine.
But the story of the Flyers and Canadiens? Oh, you'd have to conduct some intense and extensive research just to believe it if you're new to the game. And luckily, there's a video of this one, even if it's grainy like so many things were on TV back in the 1980s. So there's no denying this piece of team lore as folklore to the uninitiated fan.
Wild, right? Well, you might be asking yourself, if you're a younger fan or if you're just someone getting familiar with the Flyers storied history that includes bold eras like the Broad Street Bullies and comedic moments like the entire beach Tweet, how did this even begin?
One team had a ritual that the other team didn't take kindly to
So, Flyers fans can rightfully say the Habs started this one, as Claude Lemieux liked to end pregame warm-ups with a little ritual. Now, rituals are common in hockey, but Lemieux didn't mind ticking off opponents, as he'd fire the puck into their net to cap off the warmups, with teammate Shayne Corson also engaging in the act.
Well, the Flyers, who at this point no strangers to Lemieux's and Corson's antics throughout this series, reached a boiling point. They saw it as Lemieux calling them out, and they responded in the way you'd expect: confrontational.
Oh yes, this was the perfect storm if you're a fan who loves watching edgy play, much like I do. So, with tensions reaching the breaking point that they did, oh, I wish I was around to see this one. But, unfortunately, it'd be a few years before I'd arrive.
The Flyers were done playing games with Lemieux, and they let him know about it
At this point, the Flyere, particularly Chico Resch and Ed Hospodar, were at wits' end. The duo hadn't left the ice, even if most of the teams had, and they saw the ritual taking place. And once Hospodar threw the first punch, it was all over. The benches, or, better yet, the dressing rooms, cleared, and just about everyone skated back onto the ice and started pushing and shoving.
Funnily enough, only about half of them even had their game jerseys on, and the next thing you knew, it was one memorable fight night in the making...and remember, we still had a playoff game yet to go down.
Of course, they had to delay puck drop since these teams just wouldn't separate fast enough for the game to begin on time. Hospodar ultimately took the brunt here, as the league fined him $24,500 and suspended him for the rest of the playoffs, should the Flyers advance.
Spoiler Alert: They did. The Flyers showed up the Canadiens that night and went on to play in the Stanley Cup Final. But they couldn't upend the mighty Edmonton Oilers. Still, as far as this series went, the Flyers got the last laugh.
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