Anaheim Ducks blueliner Kevin Bieksa dropped the gloves with Nashville Predators pivot Mike Fisher, and Bieksa could be seen losing a tooth during the tussle. Bieksa finished the game one goal short of a Gordie Howe Hat Trick and at least one tooth shy of the full set.

The Hockey News

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa has dropped the gloves with some regularity in his career, but his fight with Nashville Predators center Mike Fisher might be one he remembers for a long time.

In Tuesday’s game, Bieksa and Fisher were tangled up after a whistle in the Predators’ zone and came to blows. According to HockeyFights.com, Bieksa has had more than 50 fights in the NHL, while Fisher’s battle with Bieksa was the 31st time he had dropped the gloves in his NHL career. The tilt itself was quite substantial, lasting more than 30 seconds with both players exchanging pucnhes. The moment Bieksa will remember, though, came early in the scrap when Fisher connected with a short right jab:

It’s hard to catch the moment during the fight, but the Fox Sports Predators crew slowed down the tooth-rattling moment as they headed to commercial. We're not quite sure what Bieksa's tooth is holding on by, but that looks painful.

Whether or not those were Bieksa’s real teeth is up for debate. After all, he’s played more than 600 games in the NHL and more than 250 at the collegiate and AHL level before ending up with the Ducks. There’s a good chance he has either chipped and/or lost those front teeth before.

Bieksa finished the contest with a twist on the Gordie Howe Hat Trick: he had one assist, one fight and one missing tooth. Close enough.