Thursday Night Handful

Central Division rivals Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche squared off last night. They are the only carry overs from the former Northwest Division to be paired up in the new Central, and the two teams fought like old rivals.

Clayton Stoner and Cody McLeod got things started after the first Avs goal. Stoner took exception to McLeod getting to the Wild crease late after a save. As they broke away from the crease the mitts were shed and rights were flying. Stoner was getting the upper hand early, before McLeod answered with a monster right that stopped Stoner's onslaught and gave McLeod time to tie up Stoner's right arm effectively. The two grappled for a bit before tumbling to the ice off-balance.

Late in the game Jamie McGinn took a run at Wild defenseman Nate Prosser, who wasn't happy with the hit and went after the Avs forward. As they came together, there was a quick back & forth as each man grabbed with the left and whipped heavy rights at the other. Both scored with the right before a brief break allowed Prosser to get McGinn's jersey up over his head and that brought an end to the bout.