Playoff fisticuffs happen, however, they're almost as rare as the lockness monster or blue yeti. Tonight, however, during the New York Islander visit to Raleigh to play the Carolina Hurricanes, Stefan Noesen of the Hurricanes and Kyle Maclean of the Islanders dropped the gloves with about six minutes to play in the first period in a spirited tilt.

The video itself doesn't show exactly what happened and the two combatants appeared to be relatively evenly matched but Noesen got an early jump on Maclean, while the two eventually ended up in a heap on the ice after exchanging quite a few haymakers.


It's been repeated time and time again that fighting has a purpose in hockey but sometimes it happens just because two players are downright ticked off at each other.


If the fight is a precursor to the rest of the series, no matter the length in which it lasts, it may be a series for the ages.