NHL Friday: Capitals romp over Flyers

It was pretty obvious that Holtby was overmatched when the fists started flying (Emery, of course, is no stranger to fights having already been involved in two over his career), and it seems that he wasn’t even really that interested in getting involved.

At least that’s the story Emery was telling after the game.

New York overcame a 4-2 deficit thanks to Frans Nielsen’s game-tying goal with less than two minutes to play and then won in the shootout (Nielsen also scored the winner).

Three of those performances have been against the Senators.

Downie spent parts of two seasons with the Flyers before spending the majority of his career with Tampa Bay and Colorado was brought in to help bring some life to a struggling team that is going in the wrong direction.

His first game back with the team did not go well for anybody wearing orange and black, including Downie.

Why?

And then ...

The combination of a goalie recording a shutout and being involved in a fight is pretty rare, since goalies are usually ejected when they get involved in fights and don’t get credit for a shutout (assuming they hadn’t allowed any goals). Not only did Holtby record the shutout on Friday, but he also wasn’t ejected for his involvement in the fight, mainly since it was Emery that skated the length of the ice and initiated it.

According to the database at hockey-reference, Friday was just the third time since 1987 that a goalie was credited with a shutout and more than five minutes in penalties. It might be the first time since ‘87 that a goalie has completed the shutout/fighting major doubleheader.

There was a big ol’ goalie fight in Philadelphia, instigated by the Flyers as their frustrations boiled over in a blowout defeat. Wheel of Fortune host and hockey fan Pat Sajak wasn’t a fan of the fight:

Philadelphia fans, of course, took this totally in stride and responded with measured insight. Sajak retweeted the undisputed best reply:

It’s getting ugly in Philadelphia, and Friday’s game against the Washington Capitals has to be rock bottom because, well, there really isn’t anywhere else to go.

With the Flyers trailing 7-0 early in the third period -- and fans chanting for the removal of general manager Paul Holmgren -- a line brawl broke out that ended with goalies Ray Emery and Braden Holtby exchanging blows. Well, it was mostly Emery doing the punching.

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Despite charges of assault and kidnapping, which resulted in Varlamov spending a night in jail and standing before a judge on Thursday morning, the Avalanche have decided to attempt a return to normalcy by allowing their No. 1 goaltender to return to work. Of course, Varlamov is innocent until proven guilty and has the right to live his life.

According to Dater, Roy compared the decision to when he was traded to the Avalanche in 1995 and started in a game the following night, once again citing his mantra of “why wait?” Varlamov’s situation, however, is far more significant and exceptionally more serious.

Varlamov was charged with assault and kidnapping on Thursday in relation to a domestic situation involving his girlfriend on Tuesday. The goaltender turned himself into local authorities on Wednesday and posted $5,000 bail after standing before a judge on Thursday. He is permitted to travel as per the terms of his release and a restraining order has been put into place.

Head coach Patrick Roy pleaded ignorance during his post-practice media availability on Thursday and abstained from comment with the exception of expressing a willingness to heed the wishes of local authorities. Given Varlamov’s ability to travel, the organization decided not to recall a goaltender from the American Hockey League.