Avs-Kraken heated fight gets dangerous with gloves still on

Tuesday night’s matchup between the league-leading Colorado Avalanche and the Seattle Kraken featured an unusual and chaotic moment that quickly became the game’s biggest talking point.

Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson and Kraken forward Mason Marchment dropped into a fight but not in the way fans usually see. Both players began throwing massive punches while keeping their gloves on. The sequence escalated quickly, drawing attention from both benches and officials as the altercation spilled into surrounding players.

The fallout was immediate. Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour was forced out of the game following the incident, with no clear indication of what he may have injured during the scrum though he was roughed up by veteran Brent Burns on the ice.

While the exact nature of the issue remains unknown, Montour did not return, leaving Seattle short-handed on the back end for the remainder of the night.

Fights are nothing new in hockey, but gloves-on punches cross into uncomfortable territory. Gloves add weight and hardness, increasing the risk of injury, not just to the fighters, but to anyone caught in the middle. It’s part of the reason officials attempted to be quick to step in when last night’s tilt escalated in that direction.

Whether supplemental discipline follows remains to be seen, but the moment stood out as one of the night’s most reckless sequences. For Seattle, the bigger concern is Montour’s status moving forward and whether one chaotic fight ends up having lasting consequences beyond a single game.