Is Fighting Near The End Of A 4-0 Blowout Pointless?

Fighting is always going to be a part of hockey, and that fact alone will always be up for debate. Certainly, dropping the gloves with just about two minutes remaining in a 4-0 blowout is not going to help the side in favor of fisticuffs being involved in NHL hockey.

Thus was the case in the Edmonton Oilers vs. Calgary Flames game on the league's opening night of action Thursday. The Oilers were large and in charge of this game, exhibiting some brilliance in between the pipes from Nikolai Khabibulin and tremendous offensive prowess from rookie Jordan Eberle.

But with the game already in the books, Edmonton's Steve MacIntyre and Calgary's Raitis Ivanans decided to put their own stamp on the contest. for Ivanans, it only added further embarrassment to his team.

For MacIntyre and Ivanans, this is what they do for a living in the NHL and have to drop the gloves in order to be of any value to their respective organizations. But as true enforcers, they should also understand that there is a justifiable time and place to have these heavyweight fights. Near the end of a 4-0 blowout is not that time, especially when it appeared MacIntyre was the more eager party prior to the gloves actually being dropped. His team was going to win the game handily - move on.

Granted, this wouldn't be an issue if Ivanans hadn't been rocked with a knockout blow that hit its mark by MacIntyre. If both men were separated by the linesmen and skated off the ice on their own accord, there would be no discussion. But watching Ivanans have no control over his own facilities makes it even more pointless for the fight to have occured in the first place.