When the Carolina Hurricanes acquired Nicolas Deslauriers, everyone knew he would end up dropping the gloves in his first few games. But, I don’t think many anticipated he would fight before he even played half of his debut game.
I highly doubt that anyone suspected that fight would be against an enforcer with an equally legendary resume in Mathieu Olivier. However, when Deslauriers skated over to Olivier during warmups and exchanged some brief words, there was a feeling there may be a dust-up.
With the game almost halfway through, the Hurricanes were lifeless and in need of a spark, and Deslauriers provided just that.
The clock stopped with 10:22 left in the second period as gloves hit the cold, hard ice in the neutral zone. Deslauriers and Olivier sized each other up, slowly approaching each other before Deslauriers made the first swipe, then followed it up with a punch.
From there, the fists went flying – exchanging haymakers and yanking at one anothers’ sweaters. Amidst the blows, Olivier acquired a bloody jaw after a punch from the Hurricanes’ enforcer, however, it appeared that the blood was courtesy of Deslauriers’ busted knuckle.
For Deslauriers, it was the 137th fight of his career, and for Olivier, the 112th. Both held their ground well, and ultimately, neither won nor lost in combat terms.
However, the Hurricanes certainly gained a momentary advantage from the spark provided, as Andrei Svechnikov scored Carolina’s first, and sadly only goal of the game, before Deslauriers even stepped out of the penalty box.
Discussions About the Dust-Up
In the second intermission, Svechnikov was tapped for the interview, where he took a moment to share his reaction to Deslauriers’ contribution.
“Just feels good, to be honest,” he said. “You know, we didn’t have that for a while kind of, but feels good. …Just yeah big respect for him.”
After the game, Deslauriers was asked about the fight.
“That’s what I live for, you know,” Deslauriers told the media. “I wish I could score goals, but these are the moments for me that, you know, I feel that I did something good.
“When you’re in the box – I know sometimes I’m there for long – but when we score, and I’m in there after a job I did, I was as happy as if I scored a goal.”
WATCH: Nicolas Deslauriers Drops the Gloves with Columbus Blue Jackets’ Enforcer Mathieu Olivier in Hurricanes Debut
Nicolas Deslauriers VS Mathieu Olivier🔔🥊
Two of the most respected enforcers in the NHL dropped the gloves at center ice in Columbus
Deslauriers is playing his first game with the Carolina Hurricanes after his trade from the Philadelphia Flyers at the deadline#CarolinaCulture… pic.twitter.com/Zwdnv8hzBZ
— Queen of the Puck (@rbarkleyhockey) March 18, 2026
Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on Sportsnaut. Painting stories with … More about Rachel Barkley