

The game was 7-0, the Washington Capitals were absolutely destroying the Philadelphia Flyers – and as you can see from the video above, all hell broke loose. Now, don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t the best brawl ever – but what Ray Emery did in this particular fighting sequence made it out of the ordinary.

I couldn’t tell you how many goalie fights I have seen first hand, or even watched as a highlight, but there is one thing that I have noticed in each one – both goalies came out of their nets and met somewhere towards the middle of the ice.

(70) – Ray Emery (29)Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

In this case, Ray Emery skated all the way down the ice, invites himself into Holtby’s crease, and basically begs for a fight – what happens next is the disgraceful part. Holtby backs away, wanting nothing to do with Emery, but Emery insists and pursues Holtby towards the sideboards. Emery finally lunges towards Holtby and begins a fight that should have never happened in the first place.

Once the fight started, the ref in the vicinity decided to let it continue – even though he saw Holtby backing away from the fight in the first place. Emery eventually began landing punch after punch to Holtby’s head, at this point the ref even began to hold off Caps players who were simply concerned with Holtby and most likely were just going to break up the fight.

The biggest questions is WHY? It is the third period, the Flyers are down by 7 goals…why is there a need to skate all the way down the ice to pick a fight.

I never thought it would be a goalie who would disgrace fighting in the NHL – and furthermore make me second guess my stance on fighting in the sport of hockey. I was pro fighting in the NHL before witnessing this fight, and I think I will not be the only one second guessing my beliefs about fighting in hockey.

Ray Emery’s actions were completely unnecessary and reckless. A suspension is bound to come, it will only be a matter of how many games – and if I am not mistaken, Emery has been suspended before, so he will be considered a repeat offender.

Thankfully Holtby was not injured during the fight, he ended up finishing the game and earning a shutout – and in the end, he was the goalie standing victorious!

Braden Holtby (70)Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports