Fighting is commonplace in the NHL, but not like how it went down between the Florida Panthers and San Jose Sharks on Jan. 19.

With six minutes gone in the third period and the Sharks holding a 4-1 lead, a melee broke out in the Sharks’ end of the ice, prompting San Jose goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to get involved.

Advertisement

Then Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky left his goal crease, sparking the first NHL goalie fight in six years.

The last goalie fight in the NHL was between Edmonton’s Mike Smith and Calgary’s Cam Talbot on Feb. 1, 2020. In the ’90s there were several, including between Colorado’s Patrick Roy and Detroit’s Chris Osgood in 1998 and a particularly violent bout between Philadelphia’s Ron Hextall and Toronto’s Felix Potvin in 1996.

“The generation I came up in, you’d see that a couple times a year. Way more often than now,” Nashville Predators coach Andrew Brunette said on Jan. 20.

Advertisement

But this recent fight left an impression on social media, with hundreds of posts from accounts on X.

Predators goaltenders Juuse Saros and Justus Annunen reacted to the fight after the morning skate at Bridgestone Arena.

“I thought it was awesome,” Annunen said. “I guess (Nedeljkovic) did something, so (Bobrovsky) went after him. I like that.”

Annunen acknowledged the rarity of the event, saying that officials don’t usually let goalies get involved.

“I think (Bobrovsky) caught them off guard, so he was able to get in there before they could stop him,” he said.

Saros said he didn’t see what started the fight, only the aftermath.

Advertisement

“Pretty crazy,” he said. “You don’t see that too often, but I guess people enjoy seeing the goalies fight.”

Neither Saros nor Annunen indicated he was itching to scrap, but Brunette was clear where he stands.

“We prefer (them) in the net,” Brunette said.

WIN THE WEEK: Inside Nashville Predators’ biggest week in rise from last place to NHL playoffs contender

Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.

Advertisement

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Predators’ Saros, Annunen react to Panthers-Sharks goalie fight