Nov 6, 1985: Dave Taylor drops Wayne Gretzky with a punch.

It is a moment that will live in infamy, likely for many more years to come.

It has been nearly 40 years since the infamous clash between Los Angeles Kings forward Dave Taylor and Edmonton Oilers superstar forward Wayne Gretzky, but for many hockey fans the memory is as vivid as if it had only happened yesterday.

The incident occurred during the second period of the game and although most fans are quick to remember the punch from Taylor, most will have forgotten that it was actually Gretzky who in many ways was the instigator of this particular physical altercation. There was some pushing and shoving going on behind the play after the whistle had already been blown dead, and it was a chop from Gretzky that would result in Taylor retaliating with a blow of his own.

I don't want to impune the honor of The Great One but I do believe he may have been playing it up for the camera a little bit. Gretzky initially got back up from the punch very quickly, but after a trainer arrived to tend to him he appeared to collapse back to the ice. Gretzky may have legitimately been rocked here, but the fact that he also got up with a big smile on his face suggests to me that he may have been embellishing the extent of his injuries.

Strangely enough the clash would come while Taylor was playing for the Los Angeles Kings, the team that would trade for Gretzky just a short while later and make him the most famous player to ever wear a Kings' uniform. The incident was a shocking one at the time due to the fact that it was a poorly kept secret that Gretzky was viewed as untouchable by the league, understandable given the growing popularity of hockey at the time and just how much Gretzky's contributions were responsible for that surge in popularity.

In the grand scheme of things the blow from Taylor was relatively tame, although it would result in an all out brawl between these two teams shortly after the fact.