It appears that things got quite heated during Thursday’s matchup between the New Jersey Devils and the Los Angeles Kings.
Devils’ center Jack Hughes and Kings’ winger Viktor Arvidsson got into a bit of rough stuff late in the second period, topped off with Arvidsson hitting Hughes in the head with a late elbow. It seemed to set off Hughes, as things remained heated when they went to the penalty box and the Orlando, Florida product said to Arvidsson “people pay to watch me play”.
Both players went to the penalty box due to getting minors during their skirmish, with Hughes getting one for roughing and Arvidsson getting one for elbowing.
The Kings got the last laugh in the game though, as they would go on to win 2-1. Anze Kopitar opened the scoring midway through the second with a shorthanded goal, with Tyler Toffoli tying the game a few minutes later on the power play, right before Hughes and Arvidsson’s altercation. Quinton Byfield would get the game winner with just a bit over five minutes left in the third period to secure the win for the Kings. Hughes had an assist and six shots in 21:21 of ice time, while Arvidsson, who was making his season debut in the game, had five shots in 15:43 of ice time.
While the Kings and Devils have some slight history after meeting in the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals, it’s extremely unlikely that that boiled over into Thursday’s game, as only Kopitar, Drew Doughty and Trevor Lewis remain from that 2012 Kings squad, while no one on the Devils roster played for the 2012 team. Devils winger Toffoli used to play for Los Angeles, but he made his NHL debut the season after that 2012 Cup win.
Hughes and Arvidsson will get another chance to air their grievances towards each other in a little over two weeks, as the Devils and Kings play again in Los Angeles on March 3rd, which will start at 3:30 p.m. EST.
More must-reads: