After a six-year drought from goalie fights, the National Hockey League (NHL) has seen two within the past month. The last fight was on February 1, 2020, when Cam Talbot of the Calgary Flames and Mike Smith of the Edmonton Oilers faced off in the “Battle of Alberta” game.
The San Jose Sharks and the Florida Panthers faced off in Sunrise, Florida, on January 19, 2026. After an intense game with a lot of chirps and physicality, Sergei Bobrovsky, the Panthers’ goalie, skated down the ice to meet Sharks’ goalie, Alex Nedeljkovic, in his zone.
The two dropped their gloves six minutes into the third period, marking the first goalie fight since the aforementioned “Battle of Alberta” fight.
Instead of waiting two years for another goalie fight this time, hockey fans only had to wait two weeks. The Stadium Series game this year took place exactly six years after the fight between Talbot and Smith on February 1, 2026.
In Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins faced off in an outdoor game.
During scrum behind the Bruins’ net in the 11th minute of the second period, the Lightning’s goalie, Andrei Vasilevskiy, skated up to the neutral zone from his own net and beckoned to Bruins’ goalie, Jeremy Swayman.
The two met at center ice, shook off their gloves, removed their helmets, and began exchanging punches. When the referees finally separated them, they smiled and hugged.
“My favorite thing about sports, as an avid watcher, is the drama so of course it is fun in ice hockey when players who do not normally drop their gloves get into fights. I think it makes the season when it happens.
— Iris Heter, '26
.sno-pullquote-699768f68d51c { display: flex; float: right; margin: 30px 0 30px 30px; width: 50%; border-color: #888888; border-top-width: 5px; border-right-width: 5px; border-bottom-width: 5px; border-left-width: 5px; } .sno-pullquote-699768f68d51c p.pullquotetext, .sno-pullquote-699768f68d51c p.quotespeaker { } .sno-pullquote-699768f68d51c .pullquotepic { width: 33%; margin-left: 25px; } .sno-story-body .sno-pullquote-699768f68d51c p.pullquotetext { font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.4em; } .sno-pullquote-699768f68d51c .quotebar { background: #dddddd; flex: 0 0 90px; margin-top: -15px; margin-left: -15px; padding-left: 15px; padding-top: 15px; margin-right: 15px; } .sno-pullquote-699768f68d51c .largequote { color: #888888; } .sno-pullquote-699768f68d51c .quotebody { width: unset; }Goalie fights in the NHL are a rare thing. Interference from officials, potential ejections or penalties, the risk of injury to a starting goalie, and the plain 200 feet separating the goalies are all big factors in why these fights happen so sparingly.
The rarity of this happening only makes it all the more exciting when it does happen, both for the teams and the fans.