During the second period of Saturday night’s 1-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi found himself in the middle of a spirited fight with Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle. 

The scrap took place at center ice at the 11:14 mark of the middle frame and lasted roughly 30 seconds, with both players landing solid punches in a tightly contested exchange.

The fight was sparked by a sequence of heavy hits from Guhle earlier in the game — one delivered to linemate Bobby McMann and another to assistant captain John Tavares on open ice. Domi took notice, and when the moment presented itself, he decided to answer the bell.

“Honestly, man, it’s one of those things; it’s part of the game and always will be. When one of your players gets hit like that in the open ice, I mean, you’re on the bench and you see that you don’t like to see that. It’s obviously part of the game, but especially for a guy like Johnny. I mean, it’s a team sport, and to be a good teammate, you gotta step in like that,” said Domi post-game.

The exchange resulted in the expected five-minute fighting majors for both players.

However, Domi was also assessed an additional two-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct — a penalty that teammate Nick Robertson served. It raised questions, considering it appeared to be a mutual fight.

The reason behind the extra penalty

As seen in video footage posted by Sportsnet on X, Domi jumped off the bench and skated directly toward Guhle without engaging in the actual flow of play. He wasn’t tracking the puck or making a hockey play – which isn’t allowed.

“A little bit of a misuse on my part, in terms of, obviously, you don’t want to take the extra two, which is why I waited as long as I did. I guess the rule is that I was talking to the two refs out there, and they said you actually have to make a hockey play, and then you can fight. I didn’t know that, to be honest, but now I know,” Domi explained.

The video confirms this interpretation. The 30-year-old went straight toward Guhle; the two exchanged a quick word and immediately dropped the gloves. This bypassed any attempt to play the puck or position himself within the ongoing play.

Now he’ll know going forward. 

‘I Enjoy It Back There’: Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner Shines On Both Ends Of The Ice, Scores Overtime Winner After Taking Shifts On Defense Mitch Marner was doing it on all ends of the ice on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens. 

Regardless, the Leafs managed to come out on top in the contest, securing home-ice advantage in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“It’s huge,” said Domi. “I think any time you can lock up that it’s massive, especially going into whoever we’re going to play. It’s going to be a heck of a battle in the first round, so hopefully, our fans are ready to go because we will be for sure.”

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