The Detroit Red Wings may not have won the battle with the Nashville Predators on Saturday. However, Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider definitely got the decision in a star-studded fight with Predators leading scorer Filip Forsberg.
The two combatants clashed along the boards in the Detroit zone during the second period of Nashville’s 1-0 victory. With tempers flaring, the gloves and helmets were coming off as both players were making the decision to throw down.
“I just funneled the puck a little bit and got cross-checked and then I don’t know,” Seider told Bally Sports Detroit. “We got the best of our emotions and I think it was pretty enjoyable for everyone.”
According to HockeyFights.com, it was the first bout of Seider’s NHL career. Forsberg was engaging in his third NHL fight.
A Spirited Tilt
“Good fight, too,” Detroit goalie Alex Lyon said. “Obviously those are two guys who don’t see doing that very often. When they do it . . . and it was intense, too. A lot of respect for Mo for grinding like that.
“It was passionate. You could feel it. You love to see it.”
As Lyon notes, certainly, they wouldn’t be the first candidates to be fighting. Forsberg, whose third-period goal ultimately decided the outcome of the game, is Nashville’s most productive goal scorer and top point getter. His goal was his 39th and would account for his 78th point of the campaign.
Seider is Detroit’s most efficient minute muncher. He’s playing on average 22:08 per night. That’s tops on the team.
Seider’s five-minute enforced absence due to his fighting major put the Red Wings in a bit of a bind. They were down to four defenseman during that span of time. Olli Maatta was already in the Detroit dressing room. He was undergoing repairs after being hit in the face with a puck.
Red Wings, Predators Offer Unusual Combatants
The Seider-Forsberg scrap was eerily similar to another bout featuring unusual combatants when the two clubs met in Detroit on Dec. 29. That night, Detroit sniper Alex DeBrincat, currently third on the club with 23 goals, squared off against Nashville defenseman Roman Josi, the 2021-22 Norris Trophy winner.
The fight would enable DeBrincat to complete a Gordie Howe hat-trick – a goal, an assist and a fight in the same game. That night, the Red Wings won 5-4 in overtime over the Predators.
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