The fight with Point was the second time McMann has dropped the gloves in his NHL career. Sportsnet Broadcast / Toronto Maple Leafs-YouTube [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/b65f5d8e-cc30-4f4b-866a-f0ccd2f8b2b8.jpeg] Sportsnet Broadcast / Toronto Maple Leafs-YouTube Before Toronto Maple Leafs forward Bobby McMann knew it, he was dropping the gloves with the Tampa Bay Lightning's Brayden Point. Midway through the third period of the Maple Leafs' overtime win over the Lightning, McMann and Point were battling in front of Andrei Vasilevskiy. Each traded shots at each other before the Tampa Bay forward dropped his gloves and began swinging. McMann, too, started throwing punches before the officials stepped in to break the fight up. "Yeah, it was just a battle. Things got heated, I guess, out of the battle, and then just a little bit of pushing and then we dropped them and just went at it there." McMann said on Friday, donning a black eye. "I wasn’t really expecting him to just drop them like that. And then once he did, obviously, I was ready for it, and then the refs came in. But that’s just the heat of the game, I guess." McMann only fought once before: against two-time Maple Leaf Ilya Lyubushkin in January 2024. Point has dropped the gloves 10 times throughout his NHL career, in the regular season and playoffs combined. Following the fight, McMann was assessed a cross-checking penalty from the scuffle before the two dropped the gloves. Victor Hedman scored on the Lightning power play to tie the game at three and send the game into overtime. As we know, Matthew Knies scored in the extra frame, securing the hat trick and the Maple Leafs' win over the Lightning. For Toronto, though, that's now 13 different players who've dropped the gloves this season (including Connor Dewar, who was moved at the deadline). The list includes Knies and McMann, Max Domi, Jake McCabe, Pontus Holmberg, Morgan Rielly, Ryan Reaves, Simon Benoit, Philippe Myers, Scott Laughton, Brandon Carlo, and Steven Lorentz. The Maple Leafs have fought 18 times this season, seven fewer than the total they had last year. But this year, the fights have felt different. It's more about standing up for each other than just dropping the gloves to spark a comeback. "I think it’s a collective effort from everybody to try and be involved in every situation and make sure guys are engaged and sticking up for each other, making sure we’re sticking together as a unit," McMann said. "That’s the biggest thing." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stay updated with the most interesting Maple Leafs stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwytvfCA?ceid=CA:en&oc=3] to never miss a story.
