Dave Manson was one of the toughest players in the NHL in his day.<\/p>\n
There was also a stretch early is his career where he provided plenty of offense along with all those penalty minutes \u2014 three times he had 15-plus goals and 45-plus points as a defenseman with Chicago and Edmonton.\n<\/p>\n
This is his first season as an assistant coach for San Diego in the AHL. The Gulls play the Colorado Eagles in Loveland on Friday night, so he had the chance to catch his son\u2019s NHL game Thursday night.<\/p>\n
He ended up watching his son accomplish something that he never did at this level. Josh Manson had two goals, four points and an early fight in the Colorado Avalanche\u2019s 8-2 win against the Ottawa Senators at Ball Arena.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was fun,\u201d the younger Manson said. \u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s ever seen that before. He\u2019s seen me fight. He\u2019s maybe seen me score, but I don\u2019t think he\u2019s ever seen \u2026 well, actually, nobody\u2019s ever seen that before out of me in the NHL, so it was the first for everybody, including myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Josh Manson\u2019s monster night included career highs in goals (2) and points (4). His father scored two goals in a game six times, and he had a one-goal, four-point, one-fight night in his career. But never two goals, four points and a tilt.\n<\/p>\n
The younger Manson had a fight, a goal and an assist, or a Gordie Howe hat trick, before the game was 23 minutes old. He was on the ice for five Avalanche goals and neither of the Senators\u2019 tallies. He was also the co-leader in shots on goals (5) and hits (3).\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, that was something,\u201d Avs coach Jared Bednar said. \u201cI mean, he had a Gordie Howe hat trick early in the second period, and then he just kept coming. He was involved in everything tonight \u2014 the physicality of the game, what we just normally evaluate him on the defending and all that was good, and then on the offensive side of it. He just had a fantastic night.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fight happened barely more than two minutes after the opening puck drop. Ottawa defenseman Tyler Kleven lined up Ivan Ivan for a big hit near the center red line as the Avs callup was sending the puck into the Senators zone.<\/p>\n
Kleven is a big hitter, and that was a perfectly clean one. For a team that played last night, it was a tone-setting adrenaline boost that his teammates surely appreciated.<\/p>\n
Manson had other ideas.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was kind of just one of those things,\u201d he said. \u201cThe hit was \u2026 I thought the hit was actually OK. And I\u2019ve kind of complained in the past where if it\u2019s a clean hit, you shouldn\u2019t really have to fight. So I just kind of presented myself there if he wanted. I felt like it was a good time for our team. Hopefully, spark us here on home ice on this home stand, coming off two losses. And so he obliged.\u201d<\/p>\n
It proved to be a pretty physical evening at Ball Arena. Kleven\u2019s hit and the fight with Manson got it started, and then the lopsided nature of the score helped fan the flames.<\/p>\n