How do hockey fights start?

Question

Why do hockey players fight, whats the point and are they mad at each other or is it just some sort of entertainment

Answer 1

The main reason for fighting is all about shift of momentum. Believe it or not a fight can belittle a team that is on the road that may be winning the game out right in the first period. If the home team started a fight and does some good skull bashing a lot can happen. The crowd can give the home team life and a fight is resourceful for that reason. You will see players respond with more confidence as a result. Fights are mentally and physically draining to a club who endures a beat down at ice level!

True in some circumstances fights in the NHL that start by both players that are enforcers who have a purpose to the team, not so much as the slogan --> "GOON" anymore. Goons are players in the 70's and 80’s that could not skate and constantly hit people with any object or any means necessary. Even though Donald Brashear is classified as a Goon, he actually can skate decent and can accompany that with a decent shot.

GOONS are a dead breed in the NHL of today. Even the once mentioned Tie Domi in one of the earlier posts, was a GOON in his early days, barely skating with any skill at all. It was simple adjustment now. You either adapted to the newer style of NHL or you retired like Bob Probert, Marty Mcsorley, Craig Berube just to name a few.

Players will respect good clean checks, but slashes in the back of the legs, or getting an elbow up will spark an enforcer’s attention pretty quick. If the Goaltender is interfered with accidentally or purposely. This is what causes the most ruckuses in today's game!

Fighting is a key element that must stay in professional hockey because momentum is everything in a game that is 60 minutes long with shifts averaging 48 seconds!

Answer 2

There are lots of ways to start a hockey fight.1when a goalie makes a save and alot of players are in his way and they start shoving each other thats when a start fights.2 either when a other player trips another player.3 when an other player hits another player really hard than the other teams start getting mad or u know they are just pissed.4 trash talking.Hockey fights are really exciting.

Answer 3

The idea is to protect the playmakers from being roughed up to the point where they are ineffective. If it weren't for the enforcers and fighting, guys like Gretsky would never have been great because oversized goons would keep them from ever getting near the net. That's why you need guys like my personal fave, Tie Domi (it's SUCH a shame he retired!). That little pit bull made sure guys like Mats Sundin could score without being unduly manhandled. It's an important part of the game that should never be taken away.

Answer 4

I've fought for a variety of reasons. Hockey's a close, physical game, and there's a lot of incidental contact. You get heated up. You take things personally, whether or not they're intended to be, and then after a jostle you jostle back, and maybe there's an elbow next shift out with that guy and then an open hit and then... then you go.

Sometimes you just have a fighting chemistry with someone and it's just a matter of time before you go.

Sometimes someone cheap shots your teammate or intimidates your goalie and you go.

I don't think anyone in the NHL fights for the specific purpose of entertainment.

As someone said, however, a fight can turn the tide of a game. It creates momentum, and whoever's job it is to fight knows when and with whom.

Rec is different than pro, and women's is different than men's. But we fight for a lot of the same reasons, a lot of the time. Defense of a teammate, protection of a goalie, retribution, to draw a line.

I'm rethinking my own philosophy on fighting, which has always been "go for it."

On the ice, even when I'm the only girl in a team full of men, I'm usually first in. Sometimes it's a good thing.

Sometimes it isn't, though.

Answer 5

It varies, sometimes one starts because someone gave you a cheap shot, others because someone gave a team mate a cheap shot, and then you have the show fights, like the other night the Sabres' Andrew Peters and the Capitals' Donald Brashear just sort of decided to fight with nothing at all really starting it. Peters was wearing a microphone for the game, so it was just "you want to go?' "Yeah, let's go"...two so called tough guys just seeing who is tougher that night.

Answer 6

Hockey fights start off a number of ways. Sometimes players get frustrated because hockey is a sport that doesn't have constant payoff such as basketball does with baskets, baseball does with hits, outs, runs, and football with first downs.

In hockey you either score or you don't and most of the time you don't so you get frustrated and then someone might piss you off but it's not usually just from something as trivial as being tripped especially since you are lost to your team for 5 minutes and sometimes ejected from the game if you are called for instigating a fight.

The normal fight though is by tough guys, sometimes known as goons if their offensive abilities are lacking, feel their team or the crowd needs a kick in the but. So they pick out who the other team's tough guy/goon is, or sometimes another player, and they say lets go and that guy either drops the gloves or ignores the taunt.

Once the gloves of both players are thrown off thus starts the fight.

Answer 7

Someone might have tripped/slashed a teammate and they have a little talk and then a little fight they go to the penalty box serve five minutes and return to the game. It should never be entertainment. Its just a part of the game.

Answer 8

usually there are only a couple of players that fight on one team.
a team usually has a "Goon" whom is on the 4th line. He is the enforcer that will go after someone who does a cheep shot to a player on his team. wayne gretzky never fought usually the best players don't fight. there is a certain player or players on a team that will fight.

Answer 9

How do any fights start! A disrespect or disagreement

Answer 10

Same as all the other sports: Showboating, foul language, cheap shots etc... its been down in the new NHL which to me is one of the reasons the Flyers stink. They have a bunch of bums who cant skate. Also, most of the pure fighters are gone so now you are seeing non-fighters get tricked into it in order to draw a penalty. If you get the Vs. network in the states or on satellite , they do a great job of explaining it.