Matt Martin did exactly what was expected of him.
Adam McQuaid drove Auston Matthews into the end boards so the Toronto Maple Leafs heavyweight came to the defence of his star rookie–even though it was a clean hit. Martin dropped the gloves with the Boston Bruins defenceman midway through the second period of a 6-5 Maple Leafs victory Saturday night.
It was no doubt one of the most fan-friendly tilts of the season but after 40 seconds exchanging haymakers McQuaid landed a short, crisp right hand that dropped Martin and ended the fight.
Martin skated off the ice on his own accord, a smattering of blood visible on his jersey.
Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock didn’t like the fact Martin was fighting a player wearing a visor.
“He came back [after the fight], but I don’t like the situation,” Babcock told reporters in Boston after the game. “McQuaid is a tough kid, [Martin]’s a tough kid. McQuaid has a visor on his helmet, [Martin] has no visor. I don’t like that scenario but it’s just the way it is. To me it’s not fair, but Matt is a really good teammate, he does a lot for our young guys and it’s good that he’s okay.”
Martin now has 10 fighting majors on the season. The rest of his teammates have eight fights combined.
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