Simmonds takes on Foligno after Matthews is knocked down.

There was nothing pretty about this 1 and that is likely just how these 2 wanted it.

On Saturday night during a matchup between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Minnesota Wild, 2 teams that have already established themselves as likely contenders this season, things got a little heated after a little less than 1 period of play. It was an attempt at a hit on the part of Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Auston Matthews that led to the fisticuffs, although the hit from Matthews wasn't a very successful one.

Matthews lined up Jordan Greenway, who had possession of the puck, but when he came in to deliver the body to the Wild forward he was simply shrugged off by the bigger man. Greenway not only stood firm but actually knocked Matthews down to the ice as a result of it, and I suspect that Maple Leafs enforcer Wayne Simmonds may have believed that it was Greenway who actually delivered the hit.

Either way it was enough for some shoving back and forth to begin at center ice and that was where Simmonds quickly became involved. Now there may be a little controversy in this one as Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe appeared to be arguing that Marcus Foligno had come back off the bench after a stoppage in play, but the camera angles I have seen so far don't make it clear from my perspective.

Regardless of whether or not Foligno came off the bench however, he would be Simmonds' dance partner for this one. The two big boys traded heavy blows back and forth but both of them were swinging wildly and it looks like most of the blows thrown failed to connect. There were a few glancing blows here and there, but even most of those appeared to connect with either the helmet or the shoulder of the intended target. In fact the best blow of the whole fight may have been the body punch thrown by Simmonds late in the exchange, although it's hard to tell how well that one may have connected.