New Preseason Fights Record for Capitals

After the five fights from Friday night's 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, the Washington Capitals now total 17 fights in the matter of seven games this preseason. That is the most number of fights the Capitals has ever had in one preseason, but there is still one more game tonight against the 2013 Stanley Cup winners, the Chicago Blackhawks. During the regular season last year, the Capitals had 16 fights in 48 games.

In Friday night's game, there was a total of 103 penalty minutes between the two teams, including one blindside elbow hit on Mikhail Grabovski by Flyers Zac Rinaldo. The hit will be reviewed and Rinaldo will most likely be given some sort of discipline from the NHL. During the game, he received a five-minute major and game misconduct.

Dane Byers, Steve Oleksy, Tyler Strachan, Aaron Volpatti, and Tom Wilson all participated in a fight on Friday night, also.

What's the purpose behind all this pre-season fighting? Well, I think there's two answers behind this. One is that players are trying to show coaches, teammates, and other teams what they are capable of and how tough they are.

Dallas Stars coach Lindy Ruff said, "You're trying to gain even a little bit of a competitive edge. Sending a message in the preseason that you're going to be physical, you're going to be a hard team to play against."

The second and simple answer is: because it's hockey. I have never heard a hockey fan say "When will they stop fighting?" or "I hate when the players fight". Though it is a controversial practice in the game, it is one that everyone appreciates.

Tonight's Washington Capitals vs. Chicago Blackhawks game will start at 8:00 pm EST.