NHL toronto Maple Leafs

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

Lightning 2, Maple Leafs 1: Phil Kessel made his long-awaited debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, and it got off to a rather scary start when he had to leave the game in the first period after Tampa Bay's Mattias Ohlund ran him over with a crushing hit at the blue line (video after the jump).

He would eventually return and finish with an incredible 10 shots on goal in Toronto's 2-1 overtime loss to Tampa Bay, which finally received some goal-scoring production from its captain.

Each and every Saturday this season I'll be taking a look at the random happenings and absurdities that occur in the world of hockey. Feel free to suggest stories, complain or otherwise babble at me via electronic mail.

You've got to love the spirit of minor league hockey. The promotional departments for the teams love to give fitting tributes to things that usually have a tenuous relation -- if any -- to their teams, sport and locales. I'm not criticizing, simply stating an observation. The latest team to host a promotional night chosen from their Wheel-O-Random Promotions (I hear all minor league teams keep one snugly in the back of the marketing office for when the mood strikes them) is the ECHL's Bakersfield Condors.

The team hosted King of Pop Tribute Night on Friday complete with Michael Jackson jerseys and players wearing one white glove. And don't worry, the media was naturally all over the clever puns.

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.

In the NHL, coach firings are as common as parking tickets in New York City. Throughout the NHL season I'll be taking a bi-weekly look at five coaches who are the most likely to get fired. Be advised your local coach may be axed at any moment. Consider this fair warning.

We've made it through the first month of the NHL season and not one coach has gotten fired yet. That's got to be some kind of record. This is the NHL! Coaches are fired for lots of reasons and sometimes no reason at all. How is no team displeased enough to have fired a coach yet? And what have you got to say for yourself, Lou Lamoriello? Why is your finger not on the trigger?

Monday night's Maple Leafs win over Anaheim featured plenty of penalties. In fact, five of Toronto's six goals were scored with the extra attacker.

Besides Anaheim's trademark undisciplined play, there was also a pretty intense fight. During the first period, Toronto's Colton Orr hooked up with Duck George Parros for an impressive heavyweight bout. While the fight was clean, Orr risked suspension by shoving an official during the bout. 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 story lines taking place around the league. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.

Maple Leafs 6, Ducks 3: It took nearly a month, but after eight consecutive losses to open the season the Toronto Maple Leafs are finally on the board with their first win thanks to a 6-3 victory in Anaheim on Monday night. Niklas Hagman recorded a hat trick (all three goals coming on the power play), while Jonas Gustavsson, making his first start in three weeks, stopped 20 shots -- including a highlight reel save in the first period -- to earn his first NHL win.

Doesn't that sound like a juicy headline?

It probably does and has probably left you wondering who it was taking on the Toronto coach. Was it Joe Thornton? Maybe Evgeni Nabokov or Olaf Kolzig? Well, the answer is none of the above. The former player who laid into Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson on TSN's Off the Record this week was Jim Thomson.

If you just said 'who?' you're not alone.

Of all the cities in the hockey world, no town's media may be quite as big or as hard on the folks it covers than the one in Toronto. The Toronto Maple Leafs are covered from every angle -- two or three times over -- and every year it seems the Leafs are going to trade for every star player in the NHL. Add to that a very fine microscope that is placed on the players and employees in the organization and, well, we get one of the toughest places to play in the NHL in terms of media attention.

But today, I'd like to take a moment to credit the Toronto Star for taking the time to laugh at itself and the team in a good, ease the pain, therapeutic kind of way after the Leafs' 0-6-1 start to the season.

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

Some weeks, this job is just too easy. Our search for the best hockey fights includes a couple dandies this week, including a classic heavyweight battle in Toronto. It's the kind of bout that makes Brian Burke smile. Check out our runners-up, along with video of this week's best fight, after the jump.