Matt Martin of the New York Islanders hit New Jersey Devils forward Stephen Gionta and then dropped the gloves with Tom Kostopoulos, who took exception with the hit. The fight ended with Martin dropping Kostopoulos and then motioning to the trainers to come on the ice.
This is not familiar site in the NHL, but a classy move none-the-less from Martin. Martin’s concern was understandable giving how Kostopoulos dropped after the right hand connected.
Kostopoulos tried to stand-up for a teammate and spark his team who was down 2-0 early. Picking Martin for his dance partner was not a smart move as he has 23 fights between this year and last year, Kostopoulos has eight. It also didn’t spark his team as they lost 3-1.
The Islanders are back action again in Tuesday night as they host the Winnipeg Jets. For the Devils they don’t play again until Thursday when they are in Boston to take on the Bruins.
John Machurek is an Assistant Editor and the Senior NHL Writer for The Inscriber Digital Magazine. Follow him on Twitter @JohnnyMacNHL and e-mail him at JohnnyMachurek@theinscriber.com.