Someone may want to remind the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars that Friday night’s game was only preseason.
The NHL regular season hasn’t officially begun, but the intensity between these two Central Division rivals certainly suggested otherwise.
Dallas eventually escaped with a 2-1 victory in a game that won’t have any impact on the standings. For long stretches, however, it looked more like a playoff matchup than an exhibition contest.
Tempers Explode Late in the Game
Things reached another level late in the third period.
What started as a competitive preseason matchup quickly turned into a full-scale confrontation, with players from both teams becoming involved in multiple fights and scrums across the ice.
Officials struggled to restore order as tensions continued to rise, with the rivalry producing plenty of emotion despite there being no regular-season points at stake.
Wild forward Michael McCarron was at the center of much of the chaos. He appeared particularly fired up during the confrontation, repeatedly trying to get involved as the officials worked to separate the players.
The intensity of the exchange eventually spread throughout both benches, turning an otherwise routine preseason game into one of the night’s biggest hockey storylines.
Harley Joins the Fight
Dallas defenseman Thomas Harley also found himself involved in the action.
The confrontation marked Harley’s first official NHL fight, adding another memorable moment to an already unusually physical preseason contest.
While the result will disappear from the standings once the regular season begins, the game provided an early glimpse of how much emotion exists between these two teams.
Dallas may have won 2-1, but the bigger takeaway was the level of intensity on display.
If Minnesota and Dallas are already exchanging punches like this before the games start counting, their regular-season meetings could be worth watching closely.
