Patrick Maroon Does Nic Deslauriers a huge favor

With 5:44 left in the first period, the Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota Wild were scoreless. However, something happened that jolted the crowd to life, changing the momentum.

The Flyers' Nic Deslauriers, who was scratched in the previous game, challenged one of the few remaining NHL heavyweights to a fight, in Pat Maroon. While the situation didn't really call for a fight, Maroon did Deslauriers a real favor by dropping the gloves.

Nic Deslauriers vs. Pat Maroon 🥊🥊🥊 pic.twitter.com/lFvXkdocjp— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) January 13, 2024

Both enforcers grabbed each other's jerseys and attempted to land the first punch, but both failed. They exchanged small jabs, which were ineffective, while Maroon threw multiple uppercuts that failed to land.

Deslauriers took control of the situation and forced Maroon into an exposed position, allowing him to land a flurry of punches. He was able to do this repeatedly and defeat one of the league's last remaining heavyweights.

Pat Maroon is truly a throwback to the old school, because he did Deslauriers a great service. Throughout the history of enforcers players have tried to oblige each other whenever possible. When he was scratched Tortorella made it clear he needed more out of Deslauriers, and Maroon allowed the Flyers enforcer to show he can still bring that to the team.