It didn’t take long for Milan Lucic and Dalton Prout to renew acquaintances Saturday when the Columbus Blue Jackets hosted the Boston Bruins.
Midway through the first period of the Blue Jackets 6-2 win, the two players received offsetting roughing minors, but that was just an appetizer to the main course as they dropped their gloves three minutes into the second period. Tension between the two had been simmering since a Nov. 21 altercation when Lucic called Prout “gutless” after the Blue Jackets defenceman one-punched him in a fight.
Lucic returned the favour Saturday by dropping the gloves before his opponent was ready — at least, that’s Prout’s side of the story.
“You can never be too happy when you get jumped,” Prout told reporters after the game. “Sometimes you get in those situations and you learn how to protect yourself, you brush off punches and you don’t eat too many and you try to give it back.”
Lucic was not assessed an instigator penalty; both men were given five minutes for fighting. Lucic and Prout have now fought one another three times throughout their NHL careers and have developed one of the most intense rivalries in the league.
