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Nathan Beaulieu is a tough kid — it’s one of the things I really like about him as a player.

The Canadiens defenceman showed that he wouldn’t back down from anyone last season when he dropped the gloves with the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Nick Foligno, who caught Beaulieu with a right hand that buckled his knees. Thankfully for Beaulieu, Foligno stopped throwing punches after that and the Habs defenceman only suffered a black eye. But Beaulieu almost paid a heavy price for his courage.

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Since sending Brandon Prust to Vancouver last summer in the ill-fated trade for Zack Kassian, the Canadiens haven’t really had anyone willing to step up and defend a teammate on a consistent basis — or make opponents think twice before taking a cheap shot. The Canadiens weren’t a tough team to play against last season when Beaulieu dropped the gloves three times, including the fight with Foligno when he came to the defence of teammate Tomas Fleischmann after a questionable hit.