Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist's 1st career fight was not memorable
Through 734 career games, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist has amassed 376 penalty minutes.
Only five of those have come from a fighting major.
Hornqvist would beg to differ over that designation, however.
“I don’t know about that,” he said after Sunday’s practice. “Yeah, I got five minutes, but …”
The conjunction in that incomplete sentence would be in reference to the affray he was involved in with New Jersey Devils defenseman Damon Severson during Friday’s 4-1 win at PPG Paints Arena.
Early in the second period, while the Penguins were on a power play, Severson shoved Penguins forward Jake Guentzel from behind, causing Guentzel to crash awkwardly into the boards. As the Devils’ penalty-killers lugged the puck out of the defensive zone, Hornqvist challenged Severson over the transgression.
He fared exactly like someone who was fighting for the first time in his career.
After Hornqvist batted Severson a few times with his gloves, Severson, who has five career fights according to HockeyFights.com, dropped his gloves and began throwing punches. Hornqvist fell to his knees and managed to avoid being punched in the head as linesmen Tyson Baker and David Brisebois stepped in to break up the dispute.
“He hit Jake pretty bad there, I thought,” Hornqvist said. “I know we were on the power play, and I don’t want to drop my gloves right away because then I’m the only guy that’s going to get a penalty. We were waiting for each other, then he dropped (his gloves) and I didn’t get the gloves off because I already had him in a hold. He wrestled me down. I don’t think it’s a fight. I don’t count it as a first fight. It was just a wrestling match.”
Hornqvist’s objections noted, he was given his first career fighting major as well as a roughing minor for the dustup.
“When he dropped the gloves, I didn’t have time to drop mine because I already had him grabbed on the neck there, so I didn’t want to lose my grip,” Hornqvist said. “I thought it was a dirty hit.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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