Sharks’ Nedeljkovic on fight with Bobrovsky: ‘I would do it all over again’

Everyone knows the two best words in hockey. Not “Stanley Cup”, not “power play”, not even “gold medal”. The clear and obvious answer is “goalie fight”, and it’s not even close.

Fans at Amerant Bank Arena got treated to the rare and spectacular phenomenon Monday, as the Florida Panthers‘ Sergei Bobrovsky traded blows with the San Jose Sharks‘ Alex Nedeljkovic in the third period of San Jose’s 4-1 victory.

The fight occured after Nedeljkovic involved himself in a scrum deep in the Sharks’ end. Goalies don’t typically insert themselves in that kind of extra-curricular activity, so when Bobrovsky saw what was happening from the other end of the ice, he decided to skate the length of the rink to even out the numbers for his team.

While Nedeljkovic performed quite well in the scrap, knocking Bobrovsky down with an overhand right, he wasn’t expecting to have to square up with his Russian counterpart. The Parma, Ohio native spoke with the Sharks’ television broadcast team after the game, and talked about having his teammates’ back in the scrum, and his fisticuffs with Bobrovsky.

“It didn’t matter who it was that would’ve gotten hit, I would’ve gone in for him,” said Nedeljkovic. “I didn’t really expect the consequences of doing it, to be honest with you. I got a little surprised when he came down, but I would do it all over again.”

Nedeljkovic went on to talk about the moment he realized he had to go toe-to-toe with Bobrovsky, and drawing inspiration from teammate and long-time NHL tough guy Ryan Reaves.

“It was a little bit of an ‘oh crap’ moment,” he admitted. “Fight or flight kind of kicked in. I tried to watch Reavo as best I could. I hope I made him a little bit proud out there.”