It's been an intense week for Nashville Predators forward Austin Watson... some will say it is well-deserved.
On Tuesday night, Watson dropped the gloves in what was his second fight of the week.
On Sunday, Micheal Ferland handed a three-punch combo to the face of Watson during an afternoon matchup: a stiff shot to the body followed by a devastating uppercut that rocked Watson's head back only to be finished off by a big overhand right to the face of Watson that dropped the Predator right down to the ice. To his credit Watson got back to his feet and tried to shake it off and seemed to be able to skate fluidly under his own power to the penalty box.
Back to Tuesday: the Preds were having a blast, humiliating the Washington Capitals in a 7-2 victory. Tom Wilson attempted to spark his team and rocked defenseman Ryan Ellis with a heavy hit. Watson did not appreciate Wilson's check on his teammates and the two enforcers dropped the gloves in a heavyweight bout.
Wilson landed two strong rights and nearly knocked Watson out with a stiff uppercut. The Capitals forward then earned the takedown for the decisive victory in this fight!
Both players are well-known from the players' department of safety, there is no doubt about it. Wilson is quite the repeat offender and Watson started out his season with a suspension for domestic violence, a 27 game decision that was reduced to 18 after appealing to a neutral arbiter.
Some will say that it seems he fares significantly less well when taking on members of the same sex. Watson did however make a honest confession on Friday that the last year's arrest, that led to his 18-game suspension, came when he fell off the wagon and started drinking again after 23 months of sobriety.
Watson said Friday in an Instagram post that he’s been dealing with anxiety, depression and alcoholism since the age of 18. Watson said he entered the NHL’s substance abuse program after his June 16 arrest and added that "I am currently sober and committed to living a healthy lifestyle so that I can be the father, partner, teammate and person I want to be."
As we were saying, intense week for the forward.
