Shaw drops gloves in risky fight against Graves!

Only about a quarter of the way through the first period of today’s game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche, temperatures boiled over. It resulted in Chicago’s Andrew Shaw and the Avs’ Ryan Graves dropping the gloves for a very spirited battle.

Both received five-minute majors for fighting, but no further penalties were handed out. As you can see in the video below, Shaw decided to keep wailing on Graves after he had dropped to the ice and the refs were stepping in. It will be interesting to see if that might land him any type of fine or a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.

Neither of these guys is any stranger to fighting during games. Despite suffering several concussions throughout his career, Shaw shows no signs of tempering the aggressive style of play that he’s maintained in a previous stint with the Chicago Blackhawks, as well as one with the Montreal Canadiens. 

As for Graves, the guy is a heavyweight. At six-foot-five-inches and 220 pounds, he towers over the much shorter Shaw and has about 40 pounds on him! 

Despite that, Shaw seems to hold his own here. He’s like a dog with a bone every time he’s challenged and refuses to back down from anyone regardless of how much he’s giving up in the height and weight department. Love him or hate him, Shaw is the type of player everyone in the NHL would like to have on their own team simply for the added protection he offers his teammates and his intensity when he laces up the skates. 

For a full look at the great bout, see below.