Matt Niskanen Wins Fight

After his previous misadventures with Cory Stillman, Sidney Crosby, and Shane Hnidy, former Bulldog Matt Niskanen wasn't exactly labeled as a fighter.

Wednesday night, he took a significant step toward changing that perception.

After missing a few games with a nasty cut on his left hand, Niskanen returned to the Stars lineup for their final game before the All-Star Break, at home against a pesky Edmonton outfit.

Early in the game, Krys Barch of the Stars got in a fight with Edmonton's Jim Vandermeer. Barch got knocked to the ice during the fight and bounced back to his skates quickly, only to have the linesmen step in. He wasn't happy about it, but the fight was over.

14 seconds later, Niskanen set out for revenge, as he dropped the gloves with Oiler center Colin Fraser, a member of last year's Cup-winning team in Chicago.

Let's go to the videotape.



Decisive win for the former UMD and Virginia/MIB star. Decisive.

Gotta love Fox Sports Southwest's Darryl Reaugh with the one-liners like "Down goes Fraser!," and "He grew the goatee back. He looks angrier." That's why he's one of the best.

They always say you remember your first NHL goal. I wonder if getting a win in an NHL fight for the first time is just as memorable.