Owen Tippett's first fight came last night against the Columbus Blue Jackets after Tippett delivered a clean hit on forward Kent Johnson. Johnson’s teammate Dante Fabbro clearly was not a fan of the hit and made sure Tippett knew it. As the play moved up the ice, Fabbro stayed behind, poking and shoving at the Flyers forward while seemingly exchanging a few words with him.
Eventually, Tippett had enough. He dropped his gloves and went after Fabbro, landing several clean punches as the two battled. Tippett looked surprisingly comfortable for someone who had never fought in an NHL game before, getting his punches in while doing a good job of avoiding most of Fabbro’s attempts to fight back. Fabbro managed to get a few shots in, but Tippett appeared to get the better of the exchange.
Tippett proves he won't shy away from a fight
Tippett is not the only player involved in this fight with a pretty limited fighting history. According to HockeyFights, Fabbro has just three recorded fights in his NHL career: this one against Tippett, a 2021 fight against Yanni Gourde, and a March 2026 matchup against none other than Christian Dvorak. The fight with Dvorak was not particularly eventful, but it came after Dvorak stepped in to stick up for Matvei Michkov, who had been cross-checked by Fabbro.
The timing of Tippett’s fight could not have been much better. The fight came just 30 seconds after Michkov scored the game-tying goal, giving the Flyers some much-needed momentum. Both players received the standard five-minute fighting major, but Fabbro’s actions leading up to the fight earned him an additional two minutes for roughing.
The gloves are off after Owen Tippett laid a heavy hit on Kent Johnson 🥊 pic.twitter.com/3mwAwA6jKO
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) November 15, 2026
That penalty sent Philadelphia to the power play, and the Flyers wasted very little time taking advantage. Just 30 seconds into the man advantage, Denver Barkey found the back of the net to give Philadelphia its first lead of the night. Barkey’s goal game just 1:02 after Michkov’s game-tying tally, making for quite the stretch of hockey for the Flyers.
In the span of just over a minute, Philadelphia had gone from trailing to leading, with Tippett’s fight serving as another spark in what was quickly becoming a momentum-shifting sequence.
While the timing of the fight made it particularly memorable, the fact that it was Tippett’s first is interesting itself. For a player who has built a reputation as a physical presence, it is surprising that it took 444 NHL games for him to get into his first fight. Tippett has never been afraid to throw his weight around, and his physicality is a noticeable part of his game. Since joining the Flyers, he has recorded more than 600 hits, consistently bringing that element to the lineup.
Last season, Tippett recorded a career-high 166 hits. Granted, it was also the most games he had played in a single season, but that total was still good for second on the Flyers, trailing only Garnet Hathaway. So, while fighting has not been part of Tippett’s game up to this point, playing physically certainly has.
Overall, it was a pretty impressive first fight for Tippett. He stood his ground, landed some good punches, and did not look out of place despite having no NHL fighting experience. More importantly, it came at a perfect time for a Flyers team that was beginning to build some momentum.
I would certainly love to see more of this from Tippett, especially when it comes to sticking up for a teammate. That is an element the Flyers could use a little more of. Tippett has already shown that he can bring plenty of physicality to his game. Now we know he is not afraid to drop the gloves, either.
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