Should Maple Leafs Dress Ryan Reaves? Don't Bother — It's Not Like Anyone's Fighting In These Playoffs
In Game 1, Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz was reportedly stretchered out of the arena and to a hospital after taking an "accidental elbow" to the head from Sam Bennett. Since then, we've seen Florida's Evan Rodrigues get hit from behind, Toronto's John Tavares get hit high and Florida's Aleksander Barkov get sent face-first into the boards.
And we're potentially only halfway through what looks like it could be a seven-game series.
But for all the head shots, cheap shots and verbal pot shots delivered in this second-round clash, what we still haven't seen is a single fight.
No question, we've seen droplets of blood spilled on the ice – as well some vomit on the bench. But despite all the trash talk coming from Florida's bad boy trio of Matthew Tkachuk, Brad Marchand and Bennett, no one has actually dropped the gloves — much less brawled.
That's probably why there has been no calls for Toronto to inject Ryan Reaves into Game 5.
Why would there be? It's not like anyone is fighting in these playoffs.
On Monday, the spur-of-the-moment tilt between Vegas' Nicolas Hague and Edmonton's Trent Frederic was the first 'official' fight after nearly three weeks of playoff hockey.
Before that, there were no fights in the Battle of Ontario, despite both teams combining for 57 penalties in six games. There were no fights in the Battle of Florida, in which the teams traded questionable hits and where Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad was suspended for delivering a head shot on Lightning winger Brandon Hagel.
So far, there hasn't been a fight in the second-round series between Carolina and Washington, despite all the bad blood that carried over from the regular season. None between Winnipeg and Dallas, or in the previous series between Winnipeg and St. Louis, despite Jets center Mark Scheifele getting injured on a high hit from Blues center Brayden Schenn.
The question is why? Why aren't seeing more fights.
It's not like fighting has gone away from hockey. Or the games have been any less violent. In fact, there were 297 fights in the regular season, which was down slightly from 311 in 2023-24.
Like we're seeing this year, there were only four fights in the playoffs last year. All but one of them occurred in the first round, where the physicality tends to be the highest. No fights happened after the second round. When we did see a fight, it was between Matthew Tkachuk and David Pastrnak, in what was likely his first-ever fight.
Therein lies the answer. It's not the usual suspects dropping the gloves these days, because the usual suspects are not in the lineup.
Reaves, who is Toronto's enforcer, hasn't played a single game in the playoffs. Florida's A.J. Greer, who fought six times in the regular season, has been a healthy scratch in four of the Panthers' nine playoff games.
You can't fight if your fighters on the bench or are in the press box. And with the fighters no longer policing the action, the games are getting chippier and more violent.
What they are not getting is more punchy. Nor should you expect it.
Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Washington Post
The group in charge of tennis in the US is starting its first coaching program
The U.S. Tennis Association announced the start of its first all-encompassing coaching program on Wednesday, a little more than a year after an outside review of the USTA's safeguarding system offered recommendations for how to better protect players from abuse such as sexual misconduct. 'At the end of the day, we have to create safe environments for all our players,' Craig Morris, the CEO of the new USTA Coaching initiative, said in a video interview with The Associated Press from Florida.
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
The group in charge of tennis in the US is starting its first coaching program
The U.S. Tennis Association announced the start of its first all-encompassing coaching program on Wednesday, a little more than a year after an outside review of the USTA's safeguarding system offered recommendations for how to better protect players from abuse such as sexual misconduct. 'At the end of the day, we have to create safe environments for all our players,' Craig Miller, the CEO of the new USTA Coaching initiative, said in a video interview with The Associated Press from Florida. Miller said the USTA now can make sure that everyone who is certified is Safe Play approved, including completing a criminal background screening and being able to identify, respond to and prevent misconduct. The USTA estimates there are currently 25,000 to 30,000 coaches in the United States, and the country's official governing body for the sport would like to see the number rise to around 75,000 to 100,000. That would include everyone from parents teaching their children to the sorts of professional coaches who will be working with athletes at the U.S. Open, the USTA's showcase event that begins on Aug. 24. The effort is connected to the group's goal of having 35 million people playing the sport in the U.S. by 2035. 'The USTA's never been in the coaching business. We're probably the last major tennis federation in the world that doesn't do this. And it's our responsibility. … This is recruitment, marketing, benefits, services, education, certification. What's the future generation of coaching going to look like? We have to start getting high school kids and college kids looking at this as a career,' Miller said. 'This is fundamental for U.S. tennis. For the protection of this game, the USTA has to invest in protecting the delivery system of the sport,' he added. 'And for the very first time in our history, we're going to do that.' In June 2024, a 62-page report presented to the USTA Board of Directors included 19 specific recommendations for how to 'increase player safety.' The report was made public less than two months after a tennis player was awarded $9 million in damages by a jury in federal court in Florida following her accusation that the USTA failed to protect her from a coach she said sexually abused her at one of its training centers when she was a teenager. The USTA also was a defendant in four other lawsuits related to sexual abuse of tennis players over the last two decades. ___ Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: More AP tennis:
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
UF to start using facial recognition at football games
The story for football fans: Headed to a Gators game this season? The University of Florida is set to become the first school in the nation to let fans use their face as their ticket. The university's Athletic Association announced on Tuesday the launching of an express entry system that relies on facial recognition. The goal, athletic director Scott Stricklin said, is to allow people to 'spend less time in line and more time cheering on the Gators.' The program is voluntary, and requires fans to submit a photo of themselves to enter into the software program. The school and the program vendor said they will not share any biometric data with outside parties. Eventually, the system will grant access to all UF sporting events. Read more from MainStreet Daily News. Vouchers: Orange County schools are working to attract students back to the public education as growing numbers of families accept state-funded vouchers, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Teacher retention: A kindergarten teacher at Apopka Elementary is entering her 51st year working for Orange County schools, Spectrum 13 reports. Superintendents: Two finalists remain in the search for Manatee County's next superintendent, the Herald-Tribune reports. School board members: Flagler County school board chairperson Will Furry says God is calling him to run against U.S. Rep. Randy Fine in the Republican primary for Florida's 6th Congressional District, Florida Politics reports. • Sarasota County Republicans are calling for the resignation of school board member Tom Edwards over his job promoting diversity projects for a Pride organization, Florida Politics reports. Private schools: The Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Miami are experiencing an enrollment surge, WPLG reports. • A Broward County private school faces closure two days into the academic year after police told it to stop operating in a local park, WSVN reports. Pay raises: Florida A&M University insiders are anticipating faculty and staff raises in the near future, WFSU reports. Homelessness: Rising eviction rates in Florida are having negative effects on children's schooling, Bay News 9 reports. Cellphones: The Brevard County school board extended its ban on student cellphone use to include high schools, Florida Today reports. Bus routes: Some Leon County parents are raising worries about their children's safety as they travel to bus stops on routes the district changed to cope with driver vacancies, WCTV reports. Book reviews: The Collier, Lee and Charlotte county school districts have returned to their libraries the vast majority of books that were pulled for additional content review, WGCU reports. Attendance zones: The Polk County school board is preparing to redraw the boundaries for all its high schools, WTSP reports. Artificial intelligence: The Miami-Dade County school board is preparing district-wide guidelines for using AI in classrooms, WLRN reports. Don't miss a story. Here's a link from yesterday's roundup. Before you go ... So you think you bought some honey. Check this out.
