Tanner Jeannot and Nicolas Deslauriers dropped the gloves Tuesday night as the Bruins visited the Hurricanes, and neither one backed down.
It was a long, heavyweight tilt between two players who knew exactly what they'd signed up for. When it ended, the respect between them was obvious.
The building noticed. Fans were out of their seats, and every set of eyes in the arena was locked on the two of them.
Plenty of people want the gloves taken out of the NHL for good. Tuesday night was a reminder of why that push keeps stalling.
The stage made it bigger. Carolina came in first in the league standings, with Boston right behind in second.
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The Hurricanes entered at 9-2-2, the Bruins at 9-2-1.
Bruins and Hurricanes bring a heavyweight edge to a first-place matchup
Both teams arrived with momentum. Carolina is 8-1-1 over its last 10, while Boston sits at 7-2-1.
The Bruins also carry a +22 goal differential, the kind of number that says they don't need theatrics to win games.
Jeannot has three points through 12 games, with a plus-4 rating.
At 35, Deslauriers has three points in eight games, one of them a game-winner.
Carolina has Deslauriers on an $875,000 deal. Boston pays Jeannot $3,400,000.
A tilt like this is the hockey version of a thunderstorm rolling over a ballpark. A few people run for cover, but most stand up and watch.
Not every fan loves it, and that's fine. But the reaction in the building says this part of the show is here to stay.
Does the NHL really want to remove the one moment that got an entire arena on its feet in October?
Boston heads to St. Louis on Thursday, while Carolina hosts Columbus the same night.
These teams meet twice more this season, once more in Carolina and once in Boston. Rod Brind'Amour and Marco Sturm will both remember this one, and so will the two heavyweights the next time they line up across from each other.
Should the NHL ban heavyweight tilts like Jeannot vs Deslauriers?
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