Arizona Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper likely won’t forget Saturday’s game against the Calgary Flames anytime soon.
Goalie fights are increasingly rare in the current climate of the NHL but Kuemper finally grew fed up, defending teammate Jason Demers in Arizona’s 3-0 win over Calgary.
Demers gets cross-checked by Flames star Johnny Gaudreau, then takes another shot from Gaudreau while lying on the ice. Matthew Tkachuk then skates over and takes one final jab at Demers, prompting Kuemper to leave the net and take Tkachuk down.
Chaos ensues.
Darcy Kuemper throws down Matthew Tkachuk and David Rittich skates down to take him on pic.twitter.com/yllR3zqtBg
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) November 16, 2019
Tkachuk immediately gets up and throws a series of punches at Kuemper, who holds his own during the fight. Flames goaltender David Rittich finally comes flying down the ice in hopes of starring in a truly rare goalie fight before the referees separated Tkachuk and Kuemper.
Kuemper was in fine form otherwise, making 35 saves in a shutout win.
whatever the goalie version of a gordie howe hat trick is, that's what Darcy Kuemper registered today
— Yahoo Sports NHL (@YahooSportsNHL) November 16, 2019
After the game, Kuemper pleaded innocence.
“I was trying to get him off [Demers]. I didn’t think it would escalate like that,” Kuemper said, according to The Athletic’s Catherine Silverman.
A shutout, a fight, and the endless appreciation from the home crowd isn’t all too bad for a day’s work.
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