Defenceman Brenden Dillon had his 1,000th NHL game cut short Monday night after being injured in a fight.
With New Jersey leading the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 in the second period, a scrum ensued in front of the Devils’ net. Dillon and Jackets defenceman Dmitri Voronkov went at it and Voronkov caught an off-balance Dillon up high with a pair of punches. After Voronkov landed the first blow, he pulled Dillon’s sweater over his face and landed a second blow up high, knocking Dillon face-first to the ice.
Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe said he didn’t like the sequence and questioned if Dillon even knew he was in a fight to properly defend himself.
“All I know is there is no more honourable player in this league than Brenden Dillon and plays as hard and honest game than anybody in the league. He would never do something like that to another player, that I know for certain. I don’t like it at all,” Keefe said via team reporter Amanda Stein.
“I don’t think [Dillon] knows he’s in a fight, I think he’s tackled from behind, and before he knows it, his helmet is off, his jersey is over his head, and you saw what happened from there.”
Dillon stayed down for a bit after the fight and needed help from his teammates and training staff to get back to the bench. He returned for a couple shifts in the second period but did not play in the third for what Keefe described as precautionary reasons.
Keefe also took issue with Jonas Siegenthaler’s ejection, which came on a fight shortly after the Dillon-Voronkov scrap. Siegenthaler received a game misconduct for not having his jersey fastened properly during a dustup with Jackets forward Adam Fantilli.
“Siegenthaler received seven punches before he removed his gloves. I don’t know how that works, whether that affects the fact that his jersey should be tied down because he wasn’t a willing fighter, until he just had to try to protect himself,” Keefe said via Stein.
Despite the early second-period lead for the Devils, Columbus scored four unanswered goals and went on to win 5-3.
Keefe said his team has to do a better job staying focused when emotions run high.
“I don’t like how we handled those situations emotionally,” he said via NHL.com. “Obviously, not long after the situation with [Dillon] they scored, so I don’t like that. We’ve got to do a better job of staying in it emotionally, as hard as it might be.”
Dillon is a veteran of 15 NHL seasons over the course of his 1,000 games. He began his career with the Dallas Stars in the 2011-12 season and has also spent time with the San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets during his NHL tenure.
He has three goals, nine points and 24 penalty minutes in 26 games this season.