NHL vancouver Canucks

Every Friday, FanHouse sifts through the rubble and picks the best NHL fight, with the help of HockeyFights.com.

A light week on the card, but there was a relatively surprising bout and some pretty good ones to choose from. Highlighting it is our favorite former Princeton player, a gentleman who has made a name for himself by being a really good fighter. Of course, the big news of the week involved a team captain dropping the gloves with a random defenseman.

During Wednesday's edition of Newsmakers, I made a brief mention of the insanity that unfolded in the third period of Tuesday's Rangers-Canucks game, and the video is perhaps even better than I could have ever imagined.

Just over four minutes into the period, with the Canucks leading 1-0, 17 players found their way onto the ice (10 Rangers, seven Canucks) and exchanged pleasantries at center ice. Once order appeared to be restored for a few seconds, Sean Avery had words with the Canucks bench, and before you knew it, he was stealing Shane O'Brien's stick (after O'Brien tried to spear him with it) and throwing it on the ice.

Video of the mayhem after the jump.

Every Friday, FanHouse sifts through the rubble and picks the best NHL fight, with the help of HockeyFights.com.

It's no secret what we're looking for in a good fight. It needs to have intensity, some good back-and-forth action, and there is some longevity needed. If two guys trade a flurry of punches for seven seconds, it's not nearly as impressive as a high-quality 30-second fight.

This week's top fight has a little bit of everything.

The Vancouver Canucks were 3-2 winners against the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday night thanks to Mikael Samuelsson's game-winning goal late in the third period.

Earlier in the period, Canucks defenseman Willie Mitchell came out of the penalty box and found himself in a position to catch Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews with his head down, and used that opportunity to deliver a crushing (and what appears to be a clean) open-ice hit.

It might be the hit of the year so far. Video after the jump.

Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our Weekday look at the previous night's action and some of the storylines taking place around the league. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.

Canucks 7, Canadiens 1: After three straight losses to start the season, the Vancouver Canucks took out some of their frustrations on Montreal Wednesday night by dominating the Canadiens, 7-1. The Sedin twins combined for two goals and five assists in the win, while Roberto Luongo, fresh off a start where he gave up four goals on just 12 shots against Columbus, stopped 27 of 28 shots in the win.

Carey Price started in goal for the Canadiens and was lifted after giving up all seven Vancouver goals. Jaroslav Halak came on in relief and stopped all three shots he faced.

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Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our Weekday look at the previous night's action and some of the storylines taking place around the league. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.

Blue Jackets 5, Canucks 3: It's a long season, and when all is said and done I have no doubt that Roberto Luongo will once again be at the top of the pile when it comes to NHL goaltenders. His first three starts of the season, however, have been quite forgettable, and Monday's game against Columbus was certainly the worst. Luongo was lifted after giving up four goals on just 12 shots, including three in a row to start the second period. Through three starts he's stopped just 50 of 61 shots.

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Roberto Luongo doesn't bristle when he's asked about the last game of the Canucks' 2008-2009 season. He gave up seven goals in Game 6 of Vancouver's conference semifinals loss to Chicago in May. That was decidedly unlike Luongo. He knows it, everyone knows it. And he's using the worst big-game performance of his career as fuel as a new campaign gets underway.

"It's tough to figure out," Luongo told FanHouse. "Obviously, I didn't have my best game, and there were a lot of factors that came together. But I'm trying to use it as motivation for this season. I'm not happy it happened, but I learned from it."

If Roberto Luongo's new contract was for 24 years and $128 million, he would still be worth every penny. The Vancouver Canucks did wonderfully for themselves and their fan base by getting him at half. Priceless is the professional athlete who just shuts up and plays his position as well as anyone on the planet.

The parade of NHL contracts lasting more than a decade continues.

For the Vancouver Canucks, this one is likely the most significant. Goalie Roberto Luongo, the rock of the Canucks' defense for three years, has agreed to terms on a 12-year deal with Vancouver. The contract will keep him a Canucks through the 2021-2022 season, meaning Luongo will turn 43 at the end of the deal's final season.