Isn’t it great to have fans back in buildings?
Fan video has surfaced of a brawl that broke out in the stands during Game 7 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders. Two men sitting near ice level at Amalie Arena exchanged blows during the middle of play. One of the guys was injured and left bleeding as a result.
The incident blew up on social media Friday when hockey fans noticed on the corner of their televisions that two men were fighting in the stands during the middle of play. Hockey Night in Canada actually pointed it out during their broadcast. Unfortunately, the cameras were following the puck, so we didn’t get to see much of the fight.
GAME 7 ENERGY pic.twitter.com/IEVT6w30Kk
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) June 26, 2021
Fortunately, fan video has surfaced that shows the fight from up close. A man named Joe Phillips uploaded the 44-second video to Facebook. It gives a better idea of what transpired in the stands. The video shows a man wearing a Nikita Kucherov jersey trade blows with another man wearing a white Islanders sweater.
The fight was pretty lopsided, with the fan in the Tampa Bay jersey landing several rights before the fight was broken up. The man in the Islanders sweater was left with a cut in his face and bleeding. Fans in the background can be heard shouting “Tampa! Tampa!”. Security intervened and kicked out the man in blue.
While we don’t know the official reason for the fight, it’s safe to assume alcohol may have been involved. Brawls in the stands at sporting events aren’t all that uncommon, and we’re starting to see more of them now that arenas are increasing capacity. Amalie Arena had 14,800 capacity for the semifinals against the Islanders.
The brawl in the stands was very resemblant to the intense action on the ice. The Lightning won Game 7 by a 1-0 score to eliminate the Islanders for the second straight year. The series featured a nasty cross-check by Islanders’ defenseman Scott Mayfield that injured Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov. Earlier in the series, Isles’ forward Mat Barzal was fined for a cross-check on Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta.
You never want to see anybody hurt in a fight, but the brawl that broke out during live play in Game 7 is a sign that the world is truly returning back to normal.
