The 15 best hockey fights from the 2013 regular season

The wait is over. PDL is proud to present our countdown of the best hockey fights from the 2013 regular season. It took quite some time to compile this list as we combed through our Hockey Fights of the Week series, hunting for the most brutal and most entertaining bouts from the season that was. 

Did your favorite fight make our list? Let us know in the comments if we missed a gem from this season or if you think we did a poor job of ranking these bouts. These types of things are purely subjective, so feel free to tell us where we went wrong. 

Now, on to the 15 best hockey fights from the 2013 regular season.

15. Three fights in three seconds – VAN VS. DAL – Feb. 15

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EcL3iweULww?rel=0

Let's start this list off with a bang. Vancouver and Dallas kick this countdown off with three fights in three seconds. As soon as one brawl was cleared and the teams prepared to take the next draw, another altercation would break out. Individually, the three fights were mostly average. Combined, the three were one of the most exciting (and ridiculous) moments from the 2013 season.

14. Kris Newbury (NYR) vs. Tye McGinn (PHI) – Jan. 24

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hkmZPH331Bw?rel=0

Newbury appeared to pick this fight with little input from McGinn. Before McGinn even knew what was happening, Newbury had already landed a couple of shots. Not surprisingly, McGinn wasn't too pleased and made Newbury pay with some vicious blows that Newbury had no answer for. This isn't the prettiest or most elegant fight, but it's a stern reminder of what can happen if you pick on the wrong guy. 

13. Tanner Glass (PIT) vs. Arron Asham (NYR) – Jan. 20

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2XDks3F_yq8?rel=0

This Glass-Asham exchange won't be the most intense or heated compared to other fights you'll find in this article, but the two men still put on quite a show. Neither player was ready to call it quits, calling on every bit of energy they had in the tank to continue throwing punches long after the fight initially broke out. 

12. Dalton Prout (CBJ) vs. Eric Nystrom (DAL) – April 25

http://youtube.com/watch?v=r_8KmpsRnek?rel=0

The Dallas announcers seemed to enjoy this one, didn't they? To be fair, at the end of April the Stars didn't have too much to be excited about, so when Nystrom landed some of his blows the broadcast booth practically exploded. That point aside, this Prout-Nystrom rumble was a terrific one.

11. Brenden Dillon (DAL) vs. Jordin Tootoo (DET) – Jan. 29

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kXBUDX1Ceww?rel=0

Two ideas that just don't go together: Fighting and the Detroit Red Wings. At least, this was the case until the team brought in Tootoo to severely boost their muscle and willingness to drop the gloves. Tootoo wasted little time, engaging in a memorable clash with Dallas' Dillon. The fight you see above was actually the second between the two men in this contest. 

10. Aaron Volpatti (VAN) vs. Matt Beleskey (ANH) – Jan. 25

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KpLAz1-cNzo?rel=0

This fight between Volpatti and Beleskey was a terrific one, but it's one we feel was a couple of moments away from true greatness. If Beleskey would have been able to keep his balance and string together a few more sequences, this fight might have been in our top-5 of the year.

9. David Dziurzynski (OTT) vs. Frazer McLaren (TOR) – March 6

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QmYrEhHdPSc?rel=0

You knew this fight would make our list, didn't you? This might be the most memorable fight from the regular season because of the devastating knockout blow McLaren delivers to Dziurzynski. In his first NHL fight, Dziurzynski learned the hard way that dropping the gloves in the NHL is a lot different than dropping them in the AHL. 

8. Jared Boll (CBJ) vs. Mike Brown (EDM) – March 28

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9_6ey3uXa8M?rel=0

You could make a strong case that this Boll-Brown scrap could be in our top-5. The only reason it's not is that the ending is rather anticlimactic. Still, a thrilling beginning and middle place Boll and Brown in the eighth spot on our list and leave us hoping the two will drop the mitts in 2013-14. 

7. B.J. Crombeen (TB) vs. Zac Rinaldo (PHI) – Feb. 5

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NPzcRrFmz1U?rel=0

We couldn't make this a top-5 fight because Rinaldo showed some poor sportsmanship at the end of this scrap. As Crombeen went down, Rinaldo continued to throw punches instead of backing away from his opponent. Still, this K.O. deserves recognition as one of the most entertaining fights of the season. 

6. Roman Polak (STL) vs. Kyle Clifford (LA) – March 5

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ozIvEITbMDY?rel=0

What would this countdown be without plenty of brutal knockouts? Polak isn't known for his fighting, but when he has dropped the gloves in the past it's been a lopsided event, either in his favor or in his opponent's favor. This time Clifford wins in a landslide. 

5. Eric Boulton (NYI) vs. Krys Barch (NJ) – Jan. 31

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IlspQtoaZ74?rel=0

You can almost always count on Barch to put on a good show whenever he engages in some fisticuffs. Here he takes on Boulton in a lengthy scrap where both men make a solid argument to be the winner. Despite getting wrapped up in his own equipment and clothing, Boulton holds his own and wins this fight by a narrow margin. More on Boulton shortly.

4. Eric Boulton (NYI) vs. Colton Orr (TOR) – April 18

http://youtube.com/watch?v=J3kU2Q0JQXg?rel=0

Defense was apparently optional in this clash. We're not sure who won this battle, but we do know that we're glad we weren't on the receiving end of any of those bombs being thrown. 

3. Joe Thornton (SJ) vs. Jamie Benn (DAL) – Feb. 23

http://youtube.com/watch?v=PuZy1PQIgrA?rel=0

This fight is awesome. The suspense builds with both men circling around the ice and tossing their helmets aside before unleashing a flurry of punches. You could make a strong case that this was the best fight of the year simply by the intensity and atmosphere that was built before a single punch was thrown. 

2. Patrick Bordeleau (COL) vs. Brian McGrattan (CGY) – March 27

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HzQgbt8Fzzo?rel=0

This fight could have easily been No. 1 on our list. Two big men throwing some very big punches. During the regular season we mentioned that Bordeleau was a fighter that you were going to be hearing about for years to come. Don't be surprised if you see his name again when we revisit the best fights from the 2013-14 season.

1. Colton Orr (TOR) vs. Deryk Engelland (PIT) – Jan. 23

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GgLxYeY1gJM?rel=0

It's fitting that a fight involving Orr is our selection for the best fight of the 2013 season. It felt like we featured the Toronto Maple Leaf nearly every week as he took his anger out on opponents from around the NHL. Here he battled Engelland – a familiar adversary – in one of the longest and most balanced fights of the season. This tussle might lack some of the intensity that you'll see in the videos above, but it perfectly summarizes what was a ridiculous year in terms of fighting up in Toronto. 

Previous installments:
April 22 – April 28
April 15 – April 21
April 8 – April 14
April 1 – April 7
March 25 – March 31
March 18 – March 24
March 11 – March 17
March 4 – March 10
February 25 – March 3
February 18 – February 24
February 11 – February 17
February 4 – February 10
January 28 – February 3
January 21- January 27

A big "Thank you" to Hockey Fights, our #1 resource for hockey fight videos.

About David Rogers

Editor for The Comeback and Contributing Editor for Awful Announcing. Lover of hockey, soccer and all things pop culture.

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